heart of a heavily traveled area in the city of chicago. i think she got personally offended by this and then when she called the police, the city of chicago decided to arrest joe even though they had no evidence to do so. they arrested another man later that week for the same for a similar offense. standing still. both of them they didn t violate the ordinance. let me give a look to our viewers to the plant parenthood of illinois statement. the bubble zone ordinance is critical to ensuring that those giving and seeking health care can safely enter and leave medical facilities without harassment and intimidation. that s from lara phillips, a spok spokesperson there. do you feel you were intimidating the people going in and out of the clinic? not at all. i never said anything to any of the people entering. at the time i was praying the rosary which is not at all threatening type of prayer. so why is it so important to you? au
they will vote on whether the state should opt out of the federal mandatory insurance requirements. even if it passes, they will likely face a stiff challenge in the courts. and later this hour, we will be joined by three attorneys generals from virginia, michigan and florida who are all also fighting the national health care overhaul. gretch, over to you. thank you, steve. a chicago man heads to court today after he s arrested for praying in public. the charge he s facing is disorderly conduct. you re looking at video right here. police say he violated the city s new bubble zone ordinance because he was outside of a planned parenthood clinic. that ordinance prohibits a person from coming within eight feet of the health facility without permission. joining me now are joe holland, the man who was praying outside the clinic and his attorney. good morning to both of you. good morning. good morning, gretchen. i understand you have prayed outside of clinics like this eight to 10 tim
this time, i was standing by the entrance as you see in the video praying and one of the planned parenthood volunteers came up to me and started yelling at me and basically telling me to move away from the door. i didn t heed her request. but i also didn t respond to her. i just stood there and kept praying. and ultimately they called the cops. by the time i was finished praying, i was basically packed up for the day, ready to go home and the police came and arrested me. mr. breen, was your client, joe, within the eight feet of this new bubble zone ordinance? well, gretchen, the eight feet is only when you approach so part of the ordinance is approaching within eight feet of someone in order to present them a leaflet, a sign or a bit of oral protest. if you re standing still, you can t violate the bubble zone and that s been confirmed by the u.s. supreme court in the hill v. colorado case from 2000. right. i m seeing that video, there s