Pro-Life Pastor Walter Hoye Returns to Abortion Center After Free Speech Denial

Oakland, CA (LifeNews.com) -- After pro-life Berkeley pastor Walter Hoye was sent to jail following his conviction on a local ordinance that targets the free speech rights of pro-life advocates, he has returned to the abortion center where his offer of help to pregnant women led him to prison.

Hoye has been ordered by a local judge to stay 100 yards away from the abortion center, but he says he plans to provide abortion alternatives information to women anyway. In response, an Alameda County prosecutor went back to court Friday hoping to convince the judge to order an injunction using the new Oakland law, implemented specifically to target Hoye, which puts a “bubble zone” in place within eight feet of women entering any local abortion business. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stuart Hing delayed a ruling until next month but answered attorneys for Hoye by saying he believes he has jurisdiction in the case and broad authority to issue an order against Hoye preventing him from helping pregnant women considering an abortion.

Hoye said it is clear that abortion advocates, who have control of Oakland’s city’ council, are using the law to target people with whom they disagree. "We're at a point here in American history when the system is being manipulated to impose particular viewpoints on another viewpoint," he said. Attorneys with the Life Legal Defense Fund, a pro-life legal group defending Hoye, have filed a lawsuit challenging the Oakland ordinance in federal court saying it violates the First Amendment free speech rights and a hearing on it is slated for this coming week. Hoye chose 18 days in jail over volunteer work and a probation order to stay away from the Family Planning Specialists Medical Group on Webster Street.in Oakland but Hoye’s attorneys and prosecutors say the order will likely be overturned on appeal.

Hoye says he has returned to the abortion center twice since then to offer women better solutions to abortion. During the Friday hearing, Deputy District Attorney Mas Morimoto asked Judge Hing to keep Hoye 100 yards from the abortion center for a period of three years with an injunction for people who have been convicted under the bubble law.