Massachusetts law: Abortion clinic buffer law upheld

[forum_admin]

A Massachusetts law that bans protesters from a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinic entrances has been upheld by a federal Appeals Court.

The First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled Wednesday that the law did not infringe on the free speech rights of protesters. It said the ban, passed in 2007, responded to “repeated incidents involving violence and other unduly aggressive behaviors in the vicinity of reproductive healthcare facilities.’’

The law, the court said, “represents a permissible response by the Massachusetts Legislature to what it reasonably perceived as a significant threat to public safety.’’

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement that she was “pleased that the First Circuit has upheld this important law, which enhances public safety and access to medical facilities, while preserving the right to engage in expressive activity on public ways and sidewalks near clinics.’’

But Tim Chandler - legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which helped represent the plaintiffs - said antiabortion advocates “shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs.’’

More...

Abortion clinic buffer law upheld - The Boston Globe