Calif. Rights Group Petitions for Removal of Pro-Abortion Banners
A pro-life advocacy group is challenging the government of San Francisco for what it deems as the promotion of abortion on banners throughout the city.
The Life Legal Defense Foundation (LLDF) sent a letter to the city hall calling for banners – emblazoned with pro-choice slogans like “U.S. out of my uterus” and “Legal abortion is a human right” – to be removed, purportedly because they are in violation of San Francisco law.
The banners are a part of the Center for Policy Analysis’ “Silver Ribbon Campaign to Trust Women.” The campaign is an attempt to raise awareness for women’s abortion rights, but the LLDF says the campaign unfairly promotes a political point through a medium that must abstain from politics.
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In the letter to lawmakers, LLDF pointed to Article 5.6, Section 184.78(c) in San Francisco's Public Works Code, which reads:
“Only the following banners may be posted on City-owned utility poles: City-sponsored banners, City-funded event banners, City-wide event banners, City convention facility banners, and City neighborhood banners.”
LLDF Executive Director Dana Cody says the banners do not promote city functions, but instead political agendas, and vowed to fight the signage.
“The city minions who 'approved' these illegal banners might have thought that the public would ignore the challenge, but they are in error,” Cody told The Huffington Post. “We also believe this puts a stick in the eye of pro-life advocates who will be marching down Market Street on January 21 for the annual March for Life.”
The group’s March for Life comes a day before the 39th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade.
The Silver Ribbon Campaign released a statement outlining the need for the banners and what organizers believe is the greater need for abortion rights.
“We’re displaying banners on Market Street in San Francisco to spark conversations and to help build momentum and solidarity among supporters of women’s rights, equality and autonomy and access to comprehensive health care, including reproductive health care services,” the statement read.
The Silver Ribbon Campaign is preparing for “Trust Women Week,” which starts Jan. 20. The event involves a coalition of 42 national organizations that will conduct a Virtual March online to rally support for abortion.
The Legal Defense Fund said it is prepared to take legal action if the City of San Francisco fails to reverse its decision to allow the high profile banners to be displayed.
According to its website, the defense group works to “give innocent and helpless human beings of any age, particularly unborn children, a trained and committed defense against the threat of death, and to support their advocates in the nation’s courtrooms.”
