PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania - March 19, 2008 - The Alliance Defense Fund has appealed a judge's decision to allow a Pittsburgh ordinance to stand, which prohibits free speech around abortion clinics.

The case involves a nurse - Mary Brown - who was prohibited from counseling women in a public area near an abortion mill. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) says they were unsuccessful in getting the presiding judge to allow free-speech rights near abortion clinics to continue while a lawsuit challenging the ordinance moves forward.

However, attorney David Cortman reveals that an appeal has been filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He says it is their "[o]pinion that this ordinance is unconstitutional because in essence it creates a no-speech zone on a public sidewalk, which we believe is an oxymoron."

Cortman explains that the lawsuit challenges the ordinance, which requires pro-life citizens to run an "obstacle" course in order to speak freely on a "public sidewalk." He argues that the ordinance penalizes Christians for expressing their beliefs.

The ordinance was approved by city officials in 2005.