Local pastor tells Metro Council he will not obey a safety zone outside abortion clinic

WDRB ^ | June 15, 2017 | Sara Sidery

[Morgana]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -

It's the only abortion clinic left in the state, and protests there are getting more aggressive. On Wednesday, Metro Council heard discussions about a "safety zone" outside the EMW Clinic in downtown Louisville.

Supporters are fighting for a 20-foot buffer zone, something the ACLU recommends that would be 8-feet wide and stretch from the clinic's front door to the street.

Anti-abortion emotions boiled over at Metro Hall at the end of a Council Public Safety Committee meeting.

"Respect the unborn children," shouted local pastor Joseph Spurgeon. "Respect our free speech. We will not obey buffer zone laws!"

During Spurgeon's speech, he blamed violence in the west end on legal abortion. He was escorted out by police.

[WKUHilltopper]

The entire country is a free speech zone. Screw these government totalitarians.

[WKUHilltopper]

“This is not a conversation about a Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade,” she said. “This is a conversation about the public safety of the folks in Jefferson County.”

Sure. As long as you’re not in the womb, you’re safe.

[Mrs. Don-o]

The pro-life prayer people are only asking for nonviolent solutions for pregnant women’s problems. They are not engaged in deaths threats (precisely the opposite), not inciting to riot, not trespassing on private property, not behaving in a disorderly manner on a public right of way.

In other words, this is free speech in action.

What exactly is the rationale for a “safety zone” other than the suppression of free speech?

[metmom]

I know a Baptist pastor who used to live in our area who spent a month in jail for contempt of court because the judge asked him if he would respect the safe zone, the buffer zone, around the abortion clinic, and he said, No, that he would continue to cross the line to protest abortion.