Man Faces Lawsuit for Billboard on Girlfriend’s Abortion

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jun 7, 2011   |   12:31PM   |   Alamogordo, NM

A New Mexico man faces a lawsuit form his former girlfriend over a public billboard he paid for that exposed the abortion decision she made and his grief that it robbed him of his child.

Greg Fultz erected the billboard weeks ago with the words, “This Would Have Been A Picture Of My 2-Month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided To Not KILL Our Child!” The billboard shows a picture of Fultz holding an outline of a an infant.

“My original intentions when I started this campaign were quite simple,” Fultz said. “I just wanted to shed the light on pro-life issues and fathers’ rights. I have had no closure over my own personal loss and that’s where the billboard came into play.”

Now, Fultz’s girlfriend has sued and claiming the billboard violates her right to privacy and a local court has suggested that the billboard be removed. Fultz and his attorney have appealed the restraining order saying that his rights to free speech are abridged by it.

“As distasteful and offensive as the sign may be to some, for over 200 years in this country the First Amendment protects distasteful and offensive speech,” attorney Todd Holmes said about the billboard. In an AP article, he cites the Westboro Baptist Church decision allowing offensive protests at military and other funerals to make his case for the billboard.

“Very unpopular offensive speech,” he told the Alamogordo Daily News. “The Supreme Court, in an 8 to 1 decision, said that is protected speech.”

Fultz said he “will fight this until I have no other options.”

“I’m standing up for what I believe in,” he told ABC. “I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that, but I will do whatever I have to do to keep my legal message up there.”

The former girlfriend, whose name has not been released in the media, admits she did not consult with Fultz about the fate of their unborn child but, according to AP, denies she had an abortion. She and friends claim she ultimately had a miscarriage that took the life of the baby.

“My argument is: What Fultz said is the truth,” Holmes said in response, saying Fultz believes his girlfriend obtained an abortion.

Ellen Jessen, the attorney for the former girlfriend would neither confirm nor deny the abortion in comments to AP. She says the issue is not the abortion or the miscarriage but her client’s right to privacy. “Nobody is stopping him from talking about father’s rights … but a person can’t invade someone’s private life,” she told the Alamogordo Daily News.

Matt Bowman, a pro-life attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, commented on the billboard controversy and said the whole incident outlines the grief fathers bear in the abortion process.

“Regardless of the prudential character of this particular billboard, it does highlight a deep and festering wound in our society:  the harm that abortion causes to the fathers of aborted children,” he said. “Most attention on post-abortion psychological harm is focused on the mothers, but men similarly have intense grief due to abortions of their children, both when they participate and when the abortion is done against their wishes.”

“Lonstanding post-abortion healing organizations such as Rachel’s Vineyard, or the Catholic Church’s Project Rachel ministry, can be contacted for specific resources to help men heal from abortion,” he noted.

Jeanne Monahan of the Family Research Council agrees with the post-abortion remarks.

“While abortion is often touted as a woman’s issue, a woman’s choice, the father is equally a parent to the developing little baby yet often lacks standing when it comes to a decision about abortion,” she said. “One such man from New Mexico was recently silenced when he wanted to preserve and protect the life of his developing baby. His girlfriend had the abortion despite his convictions. He was so distressed and angered by his lack of choice in the matter that he commissioned a billboard on a major highway to communicate his experience.”

Right to Life of New Mexico initially endorsed the billboard but backed out of co-sponsoring it upon learning of the details behind it.