HONOLULU (AP) - The attorney for an anti-abortion group told federal appeals court judges Monday that Honolulu's ban on aerial advertising illegally censors the group's most effective way to spread its message _ flying pictures of aborted fetuses over crowded beaches.

Robert Muise, an attorney for the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, told three visiting judges from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the explicit images cannot be replaced by other forms of advertisement.

"That's the essence of their message," said Muise. "Those pictures convey messages that are rhetorically inexpressible."

The group, which already drives trucks around town with giant photos of first-term aborted fetuses, challenged the city and county ban on aerial advertising after it was prevented from towing banners behind planes flying over Waikiki, as it has over other cities.

The California-based group appealed to federal circuit court after U.S. District Chief Judge David Ezra upheld the ban in a ruling last year.

Oahu has no billboards or other prominent outdoor advertising, and giant paintings of whales or tropical scenery are more likely to adorn the sides of buildings than large commercial signs.

The group argues the aerial ban not only violates its First Amendment rights of free speech, but also prevents the group from reaching hundreds of thousands of beachgoers with their message.

Jon Van Dyke, the city's special deputy counsel, said the group's name could be painted on a plane, but images are illegal because it constitutes advertising.

He told the court that the proposed banners also would pollute Hawaii's natural beauty and make the island less appealing to tourists.

"We have a unique and wonderful place. We have outstanding scenery that people come from all over the world to see," he said. "This is important for us who live here, and of course, it's vital to our economy."

But Muise said the city ban conflicts with an authorization given to the group by the Federal Aviation Administration, which allows them to fly their banners over all islands.

"The only county that is not permitting it is Honolulu," he said.

The Legislature passed a law in the last session that gives the city power to regulate any public advertisement, Van Dyke said.

"As long as we can see it, we can regulate it … It's not just one group we are worried about," Van Dyke said. "We need to protect the outstanding scenic beauty of our community."

Mary Steiner, who's with the Outdoor Circle, a nonprofit lobbying against aerial advertising, said the practice should be banned forever.

"The community is very much behind us," she said. "Nobody wants that here."

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already upheld Honolulu's ban on aerial advertising in 2002.

SkySign International Inc. had argued that state laws do not apply to the skies and that all regulation of air traffic was the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration, which had granted it certificates to operate over Oahu.

The federal appeals court ruled that Congress did not expressly bar local governments from enacting such ordinances.