The Supreme Court declined to consider overruling the precedent allowing protective “bubble” zones around abortion clinics, rejecting a challenge from a Catholic sidewalk counselor in New York.
The counselor argued that the measure violated the First Amendment right to free speech, receiving support from anti-abortion and religious groups as well as 14 Republican state attorneys general.
However, the justices declined to hear the dispute, upholding the 23-year-old precedent of Hill v. Colorado, which affirms states’ rights to limit speech-related conduct by location.
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“There is no abortion exception to the First Amendment,” attorneys general wrote.
“Sidewalk counseling is not second-class speech, and government restrictions on it must meet the same standards as every other content-based restriction.”
“If the First Amendment protects anything, it protects the right to engage in peaceful, face-to-face conversations about important matters on a public sidewalk,” Vitagliano’s legal team wrote.
The law in question created an 8-foot “bubble zone” around abortion clinics to protect prospective patients and providers from harassment, while still allowing peaceful protests.
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