Spokane Council member seeks to quiet anti-abortion protest

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A member of the Spokane City Council wants to make sure that loud anti-abortion protests at the offices of Planned Parenthood do not disrupt the facility’s services.

Councilwoman Lori Kinnear on Monday introduced a bill she said aims to respect free speech and the protesters’ right to their opinion, while ensuring that noisy protests do not intrude on the services inside the health care facility’s walls.

“It does not impact free speech. Protests are still allowed, that’s not the issue. It’s about noise,” Kinnear told The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Tuesday's edition.

Her proposed law is in response to regular and loud gatherings by an anti-abortion group called the Church at Planned Parenthood outside the offices of Planned Parenthood in Spokane.

The new law would ban activity that, intentionally or otherwise, causes “jeopardy to the health of persons receiving health services within the building” or “interference with the safe and effective delivery of health services within the building.”

Ken Peters, pastor of Covenant Church and a leader of the Church at Planned Parenthood, said the protesters have worked with police to comply with the city’s existing noise ordinance and would comply with the new law if it’s adopted.