JIM BOURG/REUTERS Anti-abortion protestors celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that strikes down a Massachusetts law that mandated a protective buffer zone around abortion clinics. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected a Massachusetts law that created 35-foot buffer zones around entrances to abortion clinics.
The law was prompted by a history of violence, including 1994 shootings at two facilities.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the state claimed “undeniably significant interests in maintaining public safety on streets and sidewalks, as well as in preserving access to adjacent health care facilities.”
But it took an “extreme step” in shutting portions of public sidewalks to protesters exercising their free speech rights, he wrote in a decision that suggested the state could pursue the same goals in other ways.
The unanimous decision appeared narrow and didn’t affect a 2000 ruling that upheld a Colorado law creating 100-foot buffer zones outside all health care facilities, not just abortion clinics.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1mjIJJv
0 comments:
Post a Comment