The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
June 27, 2014

In Blow to Abortion Access, Supreme Court Strikes Down Massachusetts Buffer Zone Law 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a Massachusetts law establishing
a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics. The law was passed in
response to a history of harassment and violence, including the fatal
shooting of two clinic workers in Massachusetts in 1994. The law was
opposed by anti-choice protesters who gather outside clinics and attempt
to convince patients not to have abortions. In a unanimous ruling, the
court found the law was too broad, but it did not reject all
abortion-clinic buffer zones, and left the door open for narrower
protections. In a press call Thursday, Martha Walz, a former
Massachusetts state legislator, now head of the Planned Parenthood
League of Massachusetts, said "the Supreme Court has taken away an
essential measure to protect public safety and health care access in our
state." Walz also raised the question of whether the Supreme Court's own
buffer zone may be unconstitutional, based on the ruling.

 

.