Appeals Court Rejects Pittsburgh Law Creating Buffer Zones at Abortion Clinics

November 4, 2009 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit this week struck down a Pittsburgh law that established two kinds of buffer zones around facilities that offer abortion services, ruling that the law improperly restricted protesters' right to free speech, the AP/Boston Globe reports. Under the 2005 ordinance, protesters were prohibited from gathering within 15 feet of medical facility entrances and required to stand eight feet from patients within a 100-foot area around the entrances. City attorneys said the law prevents protesters from blocking the entrances and harassing patients seeking abortion services.

The court ruled that either zone by itself could be legal. However, it also found that the combined zones do not comply with the free speech rights of protesters who want to distribute leaflets, according to the AP/Globe. A Colorado law creating a similar 100-foot zone around medical facilities has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has also affirmed laws in Florida and New York that prohibit protesters from standing within several feet of facility entrances, the AP/Globe reports.

The Alliance Defense Fund brought the suit on behalf of an antiabortion-rights advocate (AP/Boston Globe, 11/3).