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January 16, 2014

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones 
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The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about the issue of buffer
zones around abortion clinics. The case concerns a Massachusetts law
that creates a 35-foot protection area around a clinic's entrance –- a
distance that takes roughly seven seconds to walk. The law was enacted
in 2007 following decades of intimidation, blockades and violence by
anti-choice extremists, including a shooting rampage at two Boston-area
clinics that killed two workers in 1994. Pro-choice advocates say the
buffer zones are crucial to ensuring safe access to healthcare and
guarding against harassment by anti-choice demonstrators who routinely
gather outside clinics.

 

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