A federal appeals court yesterday upheld Honolulu's ban on aerial advertising, rejecting an appeal by anti-abortion advocates who said the rule restricts free speech and vowed to keep pressing their case.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Honolulu law was a reasonable restriction on speech in a nonpublic forum. The appeals court noted Honolulu has long restricted outdoor ads to protect O'ahu's scenic beauty. The city banned aerial advertising in 1978.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, a California-based anti-abortion group, sued the city in 2003, saying it had a right to have planes fly over O'ahu towing 100-foot banners displaying graphic images of aborted fetuses.

The Outdoor Circle, which has been involved in the court challenges along with the city, hailed the decision. A director there said that banning aerial advertising protects Hawai'i's unique visual environment and upholds the Outdoor Circle's work to keep billboards and some other forms of advertising out of the state.

"We've fought hard for the ban," said Bob Loy, director of environmental programs for the Outdoor Circle, formed in 1912 to preserve Hawai'i's scenic environment. "Every argument has been struck down by the courts."

The Bio-Ethical Center flies similar banners above heavily populated areas in other states to promote its anti-abortion message.

The anti-abortion group maintains Honolulu's air space is worth fighting over because of its geographic isolation and the access to more than 7 million visitors annually, said Gregg Cunningham, Bio-Ethical Reform executive director. The center is pushing for this method of promotion because traditional media refuse to publish pictures of fetuses, Cunningham said.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann called the court's decision "great news."

He said the ruling will help spread the word throughout the world "that what may work in other areas is certainly not applicable or appropriate here given our longtime affinity for our environment, for our scenic beauty."

He added, "this obviously has strong implications for our visitor industry to know when people come here they're going to see things here that really make for an island paradise."

The center plans to take its claims to the U.S. Supreme Court, Cunningham said.

"We never expected to get justice in the U.S. District Courts or in Honolulu," Cunningham said. "Our goal has always been to get to the U.S. Supreme Court. It's the only place we feel we'll get a fair hearing.

"We're saying that if we can't get the truth about abortion out to the public consciousness through the traditional media, at least give us the right to create alternative mass media. Abortion remains legal in this country because the truth is being suppressed."

The three-judge panel noted airplanes towing banners isn't a historically important form of communication or speech, adding there are other ways people can express themselves. The decision affirms a November 2004 ruling by U.S. District Judge David Ezra that the city ordinance was constitutional.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.