In a second unanimous ruling today, the Supreme Court says that the 35-foot perimeter this Massachusetts law put around abortion clinics, keeping pro-life protesters at bay, is unconstitutional:
REUTERS – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Massachusetts law that mandates a protective buffer zone around abortion clinics to allow patients unimpeded access.
On a 9-0 vote, the court said the 2007 law violated the freedom of speech rights of anti-abortion protesters under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by preventing them from standing on the sidewalk and speaking to people entering the clinics.
The relatively narrow decision allows the state a chance to enact a new, less-restrictive statute. The court opted against overturning a 2000 precedent, Hill v. Colorado, which upheld a similar buffer-zone law in Colorado.