The US Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down a Massachusetts law that banned protesters within 35 feet of abortion clinics, ruling that the law infringed upon the First Amendment rights of antiabortion activists.
The decision effectively overturns about 10 fixed-buffer-zone laws across the country, from San Francisco to Portland, Maine, but offers a framework for more limited restrictions around clinic demonstrations, legal experts said.
“They’ve approved the idea of this kind of law, just not the mechanism,” said Jessica Silbey, a Suffolk University Law School professor. “It was too broad.”
What did you think of the decision?
The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, of which the Episcopal Church is a member, was unhappy with the decision.
The Southern Baptist Convention was pleased.
What kind of “more limited restrictions around clinic demonstrations” would pass muster with the high court?