This is a violation of free speech. Having witnessed first-hand the love and support poured out on the sidewalk near the abortion clinic, I can truthfully attest that there is never harassment, shame, or guilt thrown out to anyone! These are peaceful protestors trying to save lives.The single business asking for our freedoms to be taken away is not a healthcare facility, it is an abortion clinic. This is why free speech is so important - to expose when others are trying to distort the truth.
I am not for violence. But we are talking about not allowing discussion here. Women have a right to know that there are alternatives to abortion, and that they may regret their decision later.
Dear Toledo City Council members, thank you for serving the community. It is for the good of the community that I strongly urge you to vote No on this misnamed and ill-conceived proposed ordinance. It is misnamed because, as pointed out, existing laws already guarantee the safety of those outside abortion facilities. And it is ill-conceived in infringing on free speech and free assembly rights, to say nothing of the substantial potential waste of city funds in defending the ordinance in court.
The people who pray at the clinic are there to support and encourage these women who have to make a difficult decision. We are there to offer options and medical, financial, and emotional assistance. The clinic fails to offer any alternative solution.
We are there to offer love and support to both mother and child. There has even been those who have offered to adopt a child. We are there to offer these women a choice and options.
To the Members of the Toledo City Council, thank you for dedicating your lives to public service! It is in the spirit of public service that I implore you to not pass this ordinance. One of the most important services we can provide the public is information. Many women who experience an unplanned pregnancy feel abortion is the only option. The role of a Sidewalk Counselor is to lovingly share all the information and options available. If information is silenced, this is a great disservice.
This is unnecessary legislation because it is redundant; it's covered by laws already on the books. There is NO record of access being denied or impeded, or of the peaceful, prayerful people present on the public right-of-way harassing patients as they enter or leave the premises. Speaking to? Yes. Talking with? Yes. Offering an alternative in a serious, tough, situation? YES! We don't need a "law" to restrict our freedom of speech or assembly because our opinion is "different" from yours.
Free speech is a guaranteed right. Please do not take the role of deciding which views should have this right and which should not. A record of years showing only peaceful encounters and no blocking access beg the question: why is this ordinance necessary? If union strikes in front of a business on public sidewalks or gathering signatures for petitions on public sidewalks need no "buffer zone" laws, then why does activity in front of abortion facilities necessitate different treatment? Vote No.
Please protect the right to free speech and the gift of hope offered to mothers entering abortion facilities here in Toledo.
Please vote NO on the “Impeding Access to Healthcare” ordinance.
Most women entering these facilities feel they have no real choice when facing an unplanned pregnancy. Shouldn’t they be able to hear about loving options of hope as well as healing if they do decide to terminate their baby’s life? Thank you for your service to our community.
I have seen first hand the kind of harassment and shame folks throw at patients for seeking healthcare. Seeking healthcare should be free of harassment! Abortion is a legal procedure in all the of The United States, and the right of any person to seek one in a safe manner should be protected regardless of personal opinion.
Please support this ordinance to ensure patient safety!
Dear City Council members,
I urge you to support free speech and religious liberty in our fine city. I live relatively close to this facility and have never seen a woman harassed or her access blocked. Those there are decent people offering an alternative where no one else may be.
Conversely, i think it would be of public interest to audit why there is an unmarked medical facility in the neighborhood, what type of medical waste is leaving there, and the location it is incinerated. Thank you.
This ordinance is a blatant and disgusting violation of the First Amendment as well as private property rights.
It will be costly to the City of Toledo if passed because there will be a court battle and it has no grounds to stand up to the Constitution. Let this ordinance die as it should, don’t waste your time or my money. No one is currently being restricted, but this would greatly restrict free speech!
This legislation is a mistake and probably will bring about a legal challenge. I have been to the "clinic" and never seen anything disruptive. If you are going to place free speech restrictions on the prolife movement, be prepared to place similar restrictions on other expressions of free speech such as social justice rallies and marches. If something disruptive or illegal ever occurred at the clinic, there are already criminal laws to deal with that.
Please allow peaceful people to continue to pray. I was a woman like these women 25 years ago. I truly wish someone would have been there to counsel me. There is more at stake than the mother and the counselors. There is the silent, innocent life of a child who has no one to advocate for them. Those clinics are just about money and death. I know from being post-abortive and going through the system. Whether you are a person of faith or a descent humanitarian, please pause and think of the child.
Dear Members of Toledo City Council: I urge you not to vote to pass this ordinance out of committee as it ultimately keeps information about community resources out of the hands of moms and dads in need. Side Walk Counselors are there to offer help, and hope to these moms in need. Often, those moms do not accept help at first offering, but because counselors are lovingly persistent, 44 moms now that we know about have chosen life for their preborn children. #freespeechsaveslives
Sidewalk aggressors are NOT counselors. They have no actual experience or education in being a counselor. If they had, they would know how important CONSENT is. This ordinance is to protect the right to healthcare of the patient. No one's free speech is being impeded, as no one has a right to an audience. Harassers often use scripture to justify their unlawful abuse. No one's right to practice their religion supercedes another's right to peacefully access safe healthcare.
Please vote AGAINST this ordinance. It is Un-American, a violation of Civil Rights, private property rights, and silences options and help offered to women. It is also redundant to laws already allowing access to facilities already part of Toledo Municipal Code in sections 351.07(24) and 509.03. Taxpayer funds should NOT be used to infringe on freedom of speech and offers of free service and help to those in need. Existing laws are adequate nor are they being violated.
please support this ordinance. let people access health care without intimidation, without harassment, without threats.it is unconscionable that this is even allowed to happen. give them some space!
This is a violation of free speech. Having witnessed first-hand the love and support poured out on the sidewalk near the abortion clinic, I can truthfully attest that there is never harassment, shame, or guilt thrown out to anyone! These are peaceful protestors trying to save lives.The single business asking for our freedoms to be taken away is not a healthcare facility, it is an abortion clinic. This is why free speech is so important - to expose when others are trying to distort the truth.
I am not for violence. But we are talking about not allowing discussion here. Women have a right to know that there are alternatives to abortion, and that they may regret their decision later.
Do not restrict freedom of speech or assembly.
Please vote no.
Dear Toledo City Council members, thank you for serving the community. It is for the good of the community that I strongly urge you to vote No on this misnamed and ill-conceived proposed ordinance. It is misnamed because, as pointed out, existing laws already guarantee the safety of those outside abortion facilities. And it is ill-conceived in infringing on free speech and free assembly rights, to say nothing of the substantial potential waste of city funds in defending the ordinance in court.
Opposed
The people who pray at the clinic are there to support and encourage these women who have to make a difficult decision. We are there to offer options and medical, financial, and emotional assistance. The clinic fails to offer any alternative solution.
We are there to offer love and support to both mother and child. There has even been those who have offered to adopt a child. We are there to offer these women a choice and options.
To the Members of the Toledo City Council, thank you for dedicating your lives to public service! It is in the spirit of public service that I implore you to not pass this ordinance. One of the most important services we can provide the public is information. Many women who experience an unplanned pregnancy feel abortion is the only option. The role of a Sidewalk Counselor is to lovingly share all the information and options available. If information is silenced, this is a great disservice.
This is unnecessary legislation because it is redundant; it's covered by laws already on the books. There is NO record of access being denied or impeded, or of the peaceful, prayerful people present on the public right-of-way harassing patients as they enter or leave the premises. Speaking to? Yes. Talking with? Yes. Offering an alternative in a serious, tough, situation? YES! We don't need a "law" to restrict our freedom of speech or assembly because our opinion is "different" from yours.
Strongly oppose. This would be a devastation to Toledo.
Free speech is a guaranteed right. Please do not take the role of deciding which views should have this right and which should not. A record of years showing only peaceful encounters and no blocking access beg the question: why is this ordinance necessary? If union strikes in front of a business on public sidewalks or gathering signatures for petitions on public sidewalks need no "buffer zone" laws, then why does activity in front of abortion facilities necessitate different treatment? Vote No.
Please protect the right to free speech and the gift of hope offered to mothers entering abortion facilities here in Toledo.
Please vote NO on the “Impeding Access to Healthcare” ordinance.
Most women entering these facilities feel they have no real choice when facing an unplanned pregnancy. Shouldn’t they be able to hear about loving options of hope as well as healing if they do decide to terminate their baby’s life? Thank you for your service to our community.
I have seen first hand the kind of harassment and shame folks throw at patients for seeking healthcare. Seeking healthcare should be free of harassment! Abortion is a legal procedure in all the of The United States, and the right of any person to seek one in a safe manner should be protected regardless of personal opinion.
Please support this ordinance to ensure patient safety!
Let’s recognize our rights, free speech given one of them!
Dear City Council members,
I urge you to support free speech and religious liberty in our fine city. I live relatively close to this facility and have never seen a woman harassed or her access blocked. Those there are decent people offering an alternative where no one else may be.
Conversely, i think it would be of public interest to audit why there is an unmarked medical facility in the neighborhood, what type of medical waste is leaving there, and the location it is incinerated. Thank you.
This ordinance is a blatant and disgusting violation of the First Amendment as well as private property rights.
It will be costly to the City of Toledo if passed because there will be a court battle and it has no grounds to stand up to the Constitution. Let this ordinance die as it should, don’t waste your time or my money. No one is currently being restricted, but this would greatly restrict free speech!
This legislation is a mistake and probably will bring about a legal challenge. I have been to the "clinic" and never seen anything disruptive. If you are going to place free speech restrictions on the prolife movement, be prepared to place similar restrictions on other expressions of free speech such as social justice rallies and marches. If something disruptive or illegal ever occurred at the clinic, there are already criminal laws to deal with that.
Please allow peaceful people to continue to pray. I was a woman like these women 25 years ago. I truly wish someone would have been there to counsel me. There is more at stake than the mother and the counselors. There is the silent, innocent life of a child who has no one to advocate for them. Those clinics are just about money and death. I know from being post-abortive and going through the system. Whether you are a person of faith or a descent humanitarian, please pause and think of the child.
Dear Members of Toledo City Council: I urge you not to vote to pass this ordinance out of committee as it ultimately keeps information about community resources out of the hands of moms and dads in need. Side Walk Counselors are there to offer help, and hope to these moms in need. Often, those moms do not accept help at first offering, but because counselors are lovingly persistent, 44 moms now that we know about have chosen life for their preborn children. #freespeechsaveslives
Sidewalk aggressors are NOT counselors. They have no actual experience or education in being a counselor. If they had, they would know how important CONSENT is. This ordinance is to protect the right to healthcare of the patient. No one's free speech is being impeded, as no one has a right to an audience. Harassers often use scripture to justify their unlawful abuse. No one's right to practice their religion supercedes another's right to peacefully access safe healthcare.
Please vote AGAINST this ordinance. It is Un-American, a violation of Civil Rights, private property rights, and silences options and help offered to women. It is also redundant to laws already allowing access to facilities already part of Toledo Municipal Code in sections 351.07(24) and 509.03. Taxpayer funds should NOT be used to infringe on freedom of speech and offers of free service and help to those in need. Existing laws are adequate nor are they being violated.
please support this ordinance. let people access health care without intimidation, without harassment, without threats.it is unconscionable that this is even allowed to happen. give them some space!