Anti-Abortion Protester Charged with Violating Oakland Bubble Zone Ordinance
Anti-abortion protester Walter Hoye was due in court today on four misdemeanor charges of violating an Oakland bubble zone ordinance.
The bubble zone ordinance protects patients, doctors, nurses, and other employees of reproductive health care facilities as well as volunteer escorts who assist people entering and exiting the facilities. The ordinance prohibits several different behaviors at reproductive health care clinics, including approaching closer than 8 feet for the "purposes of counseling, harassing, or interfering" with someone without the person's consent.
In February, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed the bubble zone ordinance. Hoye has been involved in legal challenges to the bubble zone, and last month became the first person cited for violating the ordinance.
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Labels: access, buffer zone laws, California
