Supreme Court Leaves in Place Abortion-Clinic Buffer Zones
A volunteer clinic escort walks with a patient as a demonstrator holds a sign outside a clinic in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2021.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The US Supreme Court dealt a setback to abortion opponents, refusing to reconsider a 2000 decision that lets states and cities create protective zones to shield patients from being approached near clinic entrances.
Sidestepping what would likely have been a polarizing fight, the justices turned away two appeals that said the restrictions outside clinics violate the free-speech rights of abortion opponents who want to talk to women as they enter facilities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said they would have heard both cases.