Greg Fultz, 35, is causing controversy in his hometown of Alamogordo, N.M. To get back at his ex-girlfriend, Fultz erected a billboard on the town’s main drag in May claiming that his ex had an abortion.
The $1,300 anti-abortion ad shows Fultz holding the outline of a baby and reads: “This Would Have Been a Picture Of My 2-Month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided To NOT KILL Our Child!”
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Actually, Fultz acknowledges, he isn’t sure whether his ex, Nani Lawrence, terminated her pregnancy because she won’t tell him. Regardless, he explains that while the billboard is “inspired” by his life events, it’s not intended to target his ex. Its primary purpose is to serve as a much broader pro-life message, Fultz said.
“My original intentions when I started this campaign were quite simple,” Fultz told ABC News. “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.”
For Lawrence’s part, her friends say she had a miscarriage, not an abortion, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Lawrence has taken Fultz to court for harassment and invasion of privacy. The court case focuses on the debate over constitutional rights to free speech (Fultz’s) and to privacy (Lawrence’s).
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Last week, a domestic court commissioner recommended an order of protection for Lawrence and the removal of the billboard by June 17 on the grounds of harassment. But Fultz said he won’t budge and that “I will fight this until I have no other options. I’m standing up for what I believe in.”
What he actually believes in is pretty murky, though. Details of the situation suggest that his main problem has less to do with abortion than with being jilted by Lawrence. As ABC News reported:
The original billboard had two endorsements that have since been removed. The first was from N.A.N.I., an organization Fultz created for pro-life issues that stands for National Association for Needed Information. The acronym also happens to be his ex-girlfriend’s first name. After a few weeks, Fultz removed N.A.N.I. due to the controversy distracting people from the intended message, he says.
A pro-life organization called Right to Life New Mexico initially agreed to endorse the billboard, but demanded to be removed after they learned that Fultz was unsure about the whole abortion part of his story.
But if closure is what Fultz is seeking, a giant billboard and an attention-grabbing court case probably won’t help.
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