Professional-Life Advocate Wins Free Speech Case in North Carolina
The city of Asheville, North Carolina, has amended its noise ordinance to settle a federal free speech lawsuit brought by a pro-life advocate,
The decision allows amplified speech audible up to 150 feet from a device outside an abortion facility.
The settlement resolves a case filed in 2022 by Zachary Hebb against the City of Asheville. Hebb, who regularly protested outside the Asheville Health Center—an abortion business that kills babies—challenged a 2021 city ordinance that prohibited amplified sound within 150 feet of medical clinics during operating hours. He sought to use a plastic cone or amplifier to speak conversationally to people entering the facility, offering alternatives to abortion, rather than yelling from a distance.
The facility played loud music outside, making it difficult for Hebb to be heard without amplification.
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The ordinance was adopted after public comments raised concerns about amplified pro-life messaging near the abortion center.
“After abortion advocates raised concerns over Hebb’s messaging, new language was included in the city ordinance to bar Hebb and others from communicating life-affirming beliefs in close proximity to the abortion center,” according to a joint announcement from First Liberty Institute and the Thomas More Society, which represented Hebb.
A federal district court ruled in Hebb’s favor in 2024, finding the ordinance violated his free speech rights and was unconstitutionally vague. The city appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2025, the appeals court partially upheld the lower court’s decision but remanded parts for further proceedings.
Rather than continue litigation, the city chose to settle.
Under the agreement announced March 3, 2026, Asheville amended the ordinance to permit amplified speech “up to that which is clearly audible 150 feet away from a device.”
This change ensures Hebb and other pro-life advocates “can be heard by those walking into and around the center,” the announcement stated.
First Liberty Institute and the Thomas More Society described the outcome as restoring Hebb’s “right to be heard” and protecting pro-life expression.
