New England Public Radio

‘Buffer Zone’ Replacement Bill Soon Headed To Governor

Over strong Republican opposition, the Massachusetts House passed a bill Wednesday tightening security around abortion clinics.

After the Supreme Court struck down Massachusetts “buffer zone” law, top Democrats and Planned Parenthood scrambled to put together a replacement.

State Senator Chris Markey says the bill balances patient safety with the free speech rights of protesters, but he acknowledges, “Some have said the bill is being rushed through the process and there is not a fair amount of deliberation in this regard.”

The bill would let police disperse groups blocking access to abortion clinics and then order protesters to stay at least 25 feet away for up to eight hours.

The measure moved swiftly through the Senate last week, but was held up for hours in the House as Republicans demanded roll call votes on multiple amendments. None passed.

“There can be no reasonable doubt, no reasonable doubt, that fears of criminal and civil responsibility will paralyze free speech of pro-life counselors in Massachusetts,” said Republican Senator Marc Lombardo.

The bill now goes to the governor, who’s said he supports it.

Mass. Senate Rushes Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Replacement Bill To Passage

With almost unprecedented speed, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill Wednesday night that was written after the Supreme Court threw out the state’s abortion clinic buffer zone law. The unanimous voice vote came just hours after the bill cleared a legislative committee.

Three weeks ago, the Supreme court tossed out Massachusetts’ law establishing a 35-foot protest-free zone around abortion clinics.

Speaking at a Beacon Hill hearing, Boston Police Commissioner Billy Evans says protestors have already become more violent since the high court’s ruling. He described the scene outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Boston.

“The old behavior was back, as far as women walking up to the clinic being screamed at in their faces when they were approaching the clinic, when they were leaving the clinic, being dogged when they went down Alcorn street, which is a side street.”

And this is not an isolated incident, according to Marty Walz, executive director of Planned Parenthood Massachusetts.

“Our patients are confronted with a scary environment with little sense of safety and security,” Walz said.

Eleanor McCullen says that’s an exaggeration. She’s an anti-abortion protester and was the lead petitioner in the Supreme Court Case.

“Ninety-nine percent, if you ever come over, we have loving people. Everybody is,” McCullen says. “There’s always, I guess, one little person that maybe gets too emotional.”

Regardless, top Democrats and Planned Parenthood [OR abortion rights groups] wrote a new bill to replace the old buffer zone law. It would give police the power to disperse protesters who block access to a clinic…and then order them to stay at least 25 feet away from the facility for up to eight hours.

Opponents, including McCullen, say the proposal is vague and gives police too much discretion.

“If this passes will I go back to court? Yes! Because it’s unconstitutional.”

Governor Deval Patrick, whose office helped draft the new bill, claims it follows the roadmap the Supreme Court itself set out in its opinion. Still, the governor knows where this is all headed.

“You know as well as I do that these are issues that people have strong passions about on both sides, and there probably will be litigation,” Patrick told reporters.

Clearly, House and Senate have put the replacement buffer zone bill on a fast track. They’re rushing to get it on the governor’s desk before the end of the legislative session on July 31st.

‘Buffer Zone’ Work-Around in Mass. Headed For Debate

Massachusetts Democrats say they’ve written a new bill providing clear access to abortion clinics. This follows a Supreme Court decision that found the state’s “buffer zone” law unconstitutional.

Last month, the court tossed out Massachusetts’ 35-foot protest-free zone around clinics. The court said it violated the free speech rights of anti-abortion protesters. So Attorney General Martha Coakley, Governor Deval Patrick and legislative leaders – all Democrats – wrote a work-around.

The bill would let police disperse crowds of two people or more blocking access to clinics. Then after a dispersal order is issued, protesters would have to stay at least 25 feet from the facility’s entrances and driveways for eight hours.

Patricia Stewart, the executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, says that just sounds like another buffer zone. And if the bill passes, she says, the state would be asking for another lawsuit.