Rev. Walter Hoye has been arrested in California for counseling women, praying and holding signs in front of an abortion clinic—all things we do here at the CPCL through our Convert-to-Life ministry. These are also First Amendments freedoms we enjoy and will be taking advantage of when the 40 Days for Life campaign kicks off in September here in Dallas and across the country.

Celebrate Life Magazine has a great 3-page spread on him, The Persecution of Rev. Walter Hoye, in their July-August 2009 issue. You can subscribe to the magazine here if you want to read the whole thing. Here are some excerpts.

Rev. Walter B. Hoye II is a pro-life Baptist pastor in Berkeley, California, who feels a special calling to reach out to his fellow African-Americans to end the genocide-by-abortion taking place in their communities. In 2006, he began going weekly to Family Planning Specialists, an Oakland abortion business. There he would stand outside, offering pro-life literature and attempting to converse with abortion-minded women by asking, “May I talk with you about alternatives to the clinic?” His demeanor was unfailingly friendly and low-key.

Hoye’s presence enraged clinic management, who them enlisted the help of Oakland City Council members to enact, on December 18, 2007, a “Mother, may I?” bubble zone ordinance applicable within a 100-foot radius of any Oakland abortion business.

What does “bubble-zone” ordinance mean?

This law makes it a crime to approach within eight feet of any person seeking to enter the abortion facility in order to:
· offer literature
· display a sign
· engage in oral protest, education or counseling without that person’s consent

Inside the jail, Hoye fasted, led Bible studies and won six men to Christ. Outside, numerous people began praying and sidewalk counseling, for the first time, at Family Planning Specialists. The April 8 Contra Costa Times reported.

I love this. Even in jail, this man is not a victim sitting cursing his accusers. He’s still spreading a message of love and hope in a place with bars and despair.

[Hoye] went free Tuesday with a wider, louder network of anti-abortion supporters than before he went to trial…Now…his backers said the city’s year-old “bubble law” …has backfired. “They would have been in a better position if they would have left him alone. They picked on one man on one street, one day a week trying to reach one woman at a time with one sign for one hour,” said Dion Evans, pastor of Alameda’s Chosen Vessels Christian Church. “Now a mobilization has come together because they’ve created an unjust law. People like myself who havebeen cheerleading are not on the sidelines anyone. We’re now in the game.”

My favorite quote is the last bolded one. Evans is so right. There was a time for “cheerleading,” but now it’s time for those of us who know better to get in the game.

Listen to Andrew Smith, CPLC Communications Director, talk with KATH radio host Dave Palmer today at Noon about this Saturday’s CPLC Catholic Action Training (CAT)!

Give thanks for God’s care over our nation, and pray for the freedom of life this weekend and for those who defend it overseas and here at home!