Posted on 06/07/2011 3:14:51 AM PDT by SouthernClaire
Dispute has touched off a legal debate over free speech and privacy rights
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
SFL
Well, this certainly is a tricky one! If this man is truly upset over the death of his baby then I feel sorry for him. He had no say in whether the baby was aborted or not. Perhaps he could get some counseling to help him. But, if the billboard is simply a way to harass, humiliate, intimidate a woman because she is no longer with you then it’s wrong IMHO.
he looks like a nutjob that is harrassing her
No mention of her name, no picture of her, no address, nothing to point to her except possibly her own guilty conscience...no harassment as far as I can see.
Evidently the ex-gf isn't shown and she isn't named on the sign.
I'd be inclined to rule in his favor. The sign as described is absolutely free speech.
Get real. In a town that size, everyone knows who everyone else is. He didn’t have to name her.
Why is a man who does not want his child a “deadbeat dad”, but a woman who does not want her child just “making a choice”?
I smell double standards.
Why do they always smell more like perfume than cologne?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Some of the comments following the article are deplorable.
This sad conflict is one more illustration of how intelligent our forebears were in their reverence for marriage and faith-based laws related to protecting progeny.
We have fallen so far and hard.
There's nothing tricky at all. The sign in no way identifies her. It shows only him. He's expressing his view, his life, his reality.
100% free speech.
If the billboard featured a woman with a baby outline saying, "This would've been a picture of my 2-month-old baby if a drunk driver had not killed him," what would you be saying?
Perhaps he should file a civil lawsuit.
Who is more innocent than a child in the womb??
That woman didn’t make that baby by herself.
“It’s my body and I’ll do what I want with it”....blah, blah, blah.
IMO, it’as about time the man had a say-so.
VERY powerful!!!! She SHOULD be ashamed.....and ask God for forgiveness.
First of all, Skippy, I don’t hate men or boys. My point is this: why is he on the billboard? If he is seriously upset that he didn’t have a choice over whether his baby died or not then fine. However, if there is more to the story... an attempt to humiliate or harass a woman who chooses not to be with HIM then this isn’t right in my book. Let’s say a woman who was your girlfriend, everyone in town knew you were together and she had a billboard saying, “my ex-boyfriend beats women and gave me HIV... would you feel the same way?
“She should be ashamed”.
Is it true that she had an abortion? The article didn’t state that she did one way or another. There is still the possibility that this guy is saying she did and she didn’t.
Didn’t the sign say it?
The sign stated she had an abortion but that is coming from the ex-boyfriend. I think there is some debate as to whether the woman had one or not. I have no issue whatsoever with a man feeling a loss when his wife or girlfriend aborts their child. He has no choice at all. I have no issue if it occurs and he joins a pro-life group and expresses that loss on a billboard. What is suspect to me is the intent of the billboard and placement of it. Is this done simply to hurt the ex-girlfriend because she dumped him and he is getting back at her. So, the intent of this is important as well.
It’s free speech but extremely tacky. He should deal with any grief (if that is real) privately or with a professional. The point of the billboard is clearly to lash out at an ex-girlfriend, and lashing out is always wrong.
Your Scale of Justice needs to be calibrated.
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