Ministry eyes challenge to abortion 'buffer zones' in Pittsburgh
An Arizona-based legal ministry that helped overturn protest-free “buffer zones” at Massachusetts abortion providers might try to reverse a similar rule in Pittsburgh, a ministry lawyer told the Tribune-Review.
“I'm certainly looking very closely into the possibility of bringing that challenge,” said Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom. He would not say when he might file an objection.
Bowman said the Supreme Court's decision on June 26 on the Massachusetts law invalidates Pittsburgh's buffer rule, which orders activists to keep demonstrations at least 15 feet away from abortion clinics in East Liberty, Oakland and Downtown. The high court order casts out such broad “anti-speech zones” when problems are few, he said.
Pittsburgh officials do not intend to back off the buffer zones, said Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto.
He said police enforce the standard, which City Council put into place in 2005 upon requests from abortion providers who noted more than a dozen harassment complaints a year.
Human blockades and dramatic confrontations were big problems for Pittsburgh abortion clinics before the buffers took effect, said Susan Frietsche, senior staff attorney at the Women's Law Project, Downtown, which has represented abortion providers.
Frietsche said the buffers remain “invaluable” guards that bolster safety, especially for patients.
“They're accompanied by people who love them and are anxious, as well. Emotions are running high. There's a high possibility of conflict out there right before someone is going into surgery,” she said.
Harrassment statistics have dipped dramatically, according to the Downtown staff of Planned Parenthood. A U.S. District Court judge ruled in 2009 that the local buffer could stand if the city dropped a concurrent requirement for “bubble zones,” eight feet of personal space for arriving patients. The city made the amendment.
“Our feeling is that the city's ordinance is narrowly tailored enough to stand after the Supreme Court decision,” McNulty said. He called it “a lot different from the Massachusetts zones,” which sealed 35-foot areas from demonstrators.
The Supreme Court found those zones to be an unconstitutional breach of free-speech rights. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that he knew of no similar state laws, and only five cities — including Pittsburgh — with local laws that impose such restrictions.
About a half-dozen activists assembled on Tuesday morning outside Planned Parenthood's clinic on Liberty Avenue, offering pro-life literature to passers-by. They said their regular public gatherings are peaceful, prayerful affairs.
Eliminating the buffer could tone it down more by letting activists stand closer to patients, longtime participant E.A. Svirbel of Whitehall said.
“Now to get someone's attention, you have to raise your voice,” she said. Other activists said the pro-life movement has dropped once-confrontational, obstructionist tactics in favor of a more conversational approach.
Employees at several adjacent businesses offered no opinion on the buffers.
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Aleigha Cavalier said the space allows women to seek health services without intimidation. The agency has asked Pittsburgh to retain the buffers, she said.
“It allows the protesters to say what they want to say, and allows our patients to get in the door without worrying about someone blocking it,” Cavalier said. She said Western Pennsylvania's only three abortion providers — including Allegheny Reproductive Health Center and Magee-Womens Hospital — are in the city.
Bowman said municipal rules have begun falling under legal pressure from activists including the Alliance Defending Freedom, or ADF. Since the court decision, officials in Portland, Maine, reversed a buffer law, and Burlington, Vt., and Madison, Wis., stopped enforcing theirs.
New Hampshire agreed last week not to enforce a new, 25-foot buffer while a judge considers a challenge from the ADF.
In New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told police that buffers remain intact and enforceable in 22 counties, regardless of the Supreme Court ruling. Schneiderman called the order “narrowly targeted” and said he wouldn't let anti-abortion demonstrators use it to cause confusion.
Adam Smeltz is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-380-5676 or asmeltz@tribweb.com. The Associated Press contributed.
