WASHINGTON, D.C.–It’s a law in Massachusetts that could end up having ripples all the way down to Mississippi, where abortion protesters are regularly seen around the state’s last abortion clinic. The Supreme Court was expected to hear arguments from both sides today.
The law creates a 35 ft. buffer zone around clinics where abortions are performed, keeping protesters at least that far away.
Massachusetts says that’s for the safety of everyone involved, even though some anti-abortion activists say it keeps them from non-violent conversation with anyone who might be going there to get an abortion.
If you’ve ever been by the clinic in Mississippi, located in the Fondren district of Jackson, you might’ve seen protesters on the sidewalk in front of the clinic, or on the side.
In January 2013, people paid to guard the clinic’s property line sprayed several protesters and a pastor with mace. If you want to protest there, the line is strict.
If you want to get an abortion, you might be met by Christian groups, who offer literature to keep it from happening.
In Colorado, a law that creates a floating buffer zone keeps the people who want to talk to you about it from being able to while you are walking in, was upheld by the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision that said an individual has the right to be left alone.
So far in Mississippi, there has been no such legislation introduced, and the Jackson Women’s Health Organization is operating today only because of court orders that have so far kept at bay new state laws, passed in 2012, that would have already shut the clinic down.
