High court lets ban on sidewalk counseling stand
- Apr 29, 2005
The Supreme Court dealt another defeat to the efforts of sidewalk counselors who try to change the minds of women seeking abortions.
The justices announced April 18 they would not review a lower court ruling affirming a Massachusetts law that bars communication with people within a certain distance of abortion clinics. The First Circuit Court of Appeals had overturned a federal judge’s decision blocking enforcement of the law after he ruled it violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The law, enacted in 2000, establishes a six-foot, floating buffer zone around a person approaching an abortion clinic and prohibits the distribution of leaflets, display of signs or oral communication without permission within that restricted space. The floating zone must be within an 18-foot radius of a clinic entrance or driveway.
The measure limits the ability of pro-lifers involved in sidewalk counseling and picketing to communicate with women planning to abort their children.
The law is similar to a Colorado measure establishing a no-communication zone outside abortion clinics. The Supreme Court upheld that law in 2000.
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