Jilted ex-boyfriend puts up abortion billboard

(Source: yahoo.com  News )

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man’s decision to lash out with a billboard ad saying his ex-girlfriend had an abortion against his wishes has touched off a legal debate over free speech and privacy rights.

The
sign on Alamogordo’s main thoroughfare shows 35-year-old Greg Fultz
holding the outline of an infant. The text reads, “This Would Have Been A
Picture Of My 2-Month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided To Not KILL
Our Child!”

Fultz’s ex-girlfriend has taken him to court for harassment and violation of privacy. A domestic court official has recommended the billboard be removed.

But Fultz’s attorney argues the order violates his client’s free speech rights.

“As distasteful and offensive as the sign may be to some, for over 200 years in this country the First Amendment protects distasteful and offensive speech,” Todd Holmes said.

The woman’s friends say she had a miscarriage, not an abortion, according to a report in the Albuquerque Journal.

Holmes disputes that, saying his case is based on the accuracy of his client’s statement.

“My argument is: What Fultz said is the truth,” Holmes said.

The
woman’s lawyer said she had not discussed the pregnancy with her
client. But for Ellen Jessen, whether her client had a miscarriage or an
abortion is not the point. The central issue is her client’s privacy
and the fact that the billboard has caused severe emotional distress,
Jessen said.

“Her private life is not a matter of public interest,” she told the Alamogordo Daily News.

Jessen says her client’s ex-boyfriend has crossed the line.

“Nobody is stopping him from talking about father’s rights. … but a person can’t invade someone’s private life.”

For his part, Holmes invoked the U.S. Supreme Court decision
from earlier this year concerning the Westboro Baptist Church, which is
known for its anti-gay protests at military funerals and other
high-profile events. He believes the high court’s decision to allow the
protests, as hurtful as they are, is grounds for his client to put up
the abortion billboard.

“Very
unpopular offensive speech,” he told the Alamogordo Daily News. “The
Supreme Court, in an 8 to 1 decision, said that is protected speech.”

Holmes says he is going to fight the order to remove the billboard through a District Court appeal.