City of Asheville makes noise ordinance deal with pro-life activist

A North Carolina pro-life advocate has obtained the right to utilize a sound-amplifying device outside an Asheville abortion facility after a year-long legal battle — a free speech victory for pro-life sidewalk counselors.

Key Takeaways:

• Zachary Hebb counseled abortion-minded women outside the Asheville Health Center and occasionally used an amplifier so he could be heard over traffic and other noise.

• An Asheville city ordinance banned the use of amplified sound within 150 feet of medical facilities, likely implemented to silence Hebb.

• The ordinance has now been revised, allowing Hebb to use the amplifier so long as it can't be heard more than 150 feet away.

The Backstory:

Pro-life activist Zachary Hebb sometimes used a plastic cone to amplify his voice outside the Asheville Health Center, an abortion facility, because the facility played loud music to try to drown him out, and he was also competing with the noise of traffic. Hebb went to the facility to speak to abortion-minded women and provide life-affirming alternatives and practical support. His pro-life efforts have been rooted in his Christian convictions about the sanctity of human life and the premise that mothers should be supported, not directed toward abortion.

In 2022, an Asheville city ordinance was passed to specifically restrict Hebb's efforts by banning “amplified sound within 150 feet of the property line of a public school… or a medical clinic that is open or otherwise caring for patients.” 

READ: Are pro-life speech and prayer under threat in Europe and the UK?

According to First Liberty Institute, which represented Hebb, the city sought to restrict Hebb after an abortion supporter complained about his pro-life witness, hinting that the restrictions were propelled by pro-abortion beliefs instead of genuine concerns about noise. Hebb filed a lawsuit against it.

The Details:

In late February, the city of Asheville agreed to settle the lawsuit filed by Hebb.

During a city council meeting on February 24, Asheville authorized Ordinance No. 5199, which revised the noise ordinance to state that the prohibition on amplified sound only applies “when such sound is clearly audible at more than 150 feet from the sound amplifying device.” This amendment acknowledges that not all amplified sound is disruptive, and that reasonable speech near public streets and sidewalks is protected under the First Amendment.

Hebb's lawyer testified that the pro-life advocate felt called to provide “tangible aid" for mothers who chose life instead of abortion, with the amplifier “a volume level appropriate for the area." 

“We are thrilled Mr. Hebb will now have the opportunity to effectively and winsomely share his pro-life message outside Asheville’s abortion center,” Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute Nate Kellum said. “It is paramount, now more than ever, that we protect the right of each American to freely express their faith and beliefs in the public square.” 

The Bottom Line:

The Asheville case reflects a wider trend in legal battles over pro-life speech limitations near abortion businesses. Courts have had to navigate local governments’ claims of maintaining order, as well as citizens’ constitutional right to articulate moral and religious beliefs while in public. Restrictive noise rules, bubble zones, and buffer zones can be viewed as efforts to silence peaceful dissent and to keep abortion-minded women from hearing any pro-life message.

Hebb’s settlement reaffirms that cities cannot use ambiguous or sweeping noise ordinances as a conduit to halt peaceful pro-life speech simply because it takes place outside an abortion facility. For Hebb himself, this settlement implies that he can once again transmit pro-life messages of hope to abortion-minded women, providing prayer, resources, and a message of hope in Christ.