Washington On Thursday, the Supreme Court declined to consider a couple of disputes related to abortion restrictions in Chicago and Pennsylvania, leaving laws intact that create buffer zones outside abortion clinics.
The first case rejected by the higher court involves an ordinance in Chicago making it illegal for a person within 50 feet of an abortion clinic to approach eight feet of another person “for the purpose of passing a brochure or flyer, showing a sign or participating in oral protests, education or counseling. “
The challenge to the Chicago law was brought up by four people and two anti-abortion rights groups that engage in sidewalk counseling outside abortion clinics and argue that the ordinance violates the First Amendment.
But a federal district court and the United States’ 7th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the ordinance to remain in effect, citing a 2000 Supreme Court decision confirming a similar law in Colorado.
Judge Clarence Thomas said he would have granted the request to hear the case.
The second dispute involves an ordinance enacted in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, making it illegal for a person to “congregate, patrol, picket, or knowingly demonstrate in an area that extends 20 feet from any part of an entrance, exit, or entrance of a health center. “
As in the Chicago case, a group of citizens who engage in sidewalk counseling defied the law and tried to block law enforcement because the protection zone violated their First Amendment rights.
The federal district court denied his request to block the law, and the United States 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed the decision.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to wage the two legal battles over abortion restrictions follows its ruling on Monday 5-4 that overrides a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admission privileges at nearby hospitals.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal wing of banking to overturn Louisiana law, citing a 2016 Supreme Court decision that nullifies an almost identical Texas regulation.
The legal battle over the restriction of abortion in Louisiana was the first to involve abortion rights before the new 5-4 conservative majority of the Supreme Court, which was consolidated with the additions of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, both appointed by President Trump, to the High Court.
In light of its ruling Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed lower court rulings blocking the entry into force of two Indiana laws and sent the cases to lower courts for consideration. One measure requires a woman to undergo an ultrasound scan at least 18 hours before an abortion, and the second requires that parents of minors receive notice of a court-authorized abortion.
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