The United States Supreme Court today said it was an unconstitutional 1st Amendment violation for Massachusetts to create a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics entrances to protect patients from harassment by protesters.
Notes Huffington Post:
They did so from behind their own buffer zone, which they created for themselves last year to keep away protesters.
Said Chief Justice John Roberts:
“It is no accident that public streets and sidewalks have developed as venues for the exchange of ideas,” Roberts said. “Even today, they remain one of the few places where a speaker can be confident that he is not simply preaching to the choir.”
Worth noting, too, is that federal courts have upheld buffer zones to prevent protests at funerals. Women seeking abortions, however, are on their own.