Massachusetts Reproductive Health Care Facilities Act (as amended in 2007)
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The Massachusetts Reproductive Health Care Facilities Act (as amended in 2007) was a state law that created fixed buffer zones around abortion clinics to regulate protests and patient access, later struck down on First Amendment grounds in McCullen v. Coakley.
Statements (40)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
abortion clinic buffer zone law
ⓘ
state statute ⓘ |
| affectedRight |
expressive activity on public sidewalks
ⓘ
leafleting near clinic entrances ⓘ one-on-one sidewalk counseling ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
public ways and sidewalks adjacent to reproductive health care facilities
ⓘ
reproductive health care facilities providing abortions ⓘ |
| challengedBy |
Eleanor McCullen
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
anti-abortion sidewalk counselors ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted | First Amendment free speech clause as applied to public sidewalks ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| created |
fixed buffer zones around reproductive health care facilities
ⓘ
speech-free zones around clinic entrances and driveways ⓘ |
| distinguishedFrom | floating buffer zone laws in other jurisdictions ⓘ |
| enforcedBy | Massachusetts state and local law enforcement authorities NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| foundToBe | not narrowly tailored to serve significant governmental interests ⓘ |
| governmentInterestAsserted |
preventing harassment and intimidation of patients
ⓘ
public safety ⓘ unimpeded access to health care facilities ⓘ |
| impact |
clarified constitutional limits on clinic buffer zone laws
ⓘ
influenced subsequent state and local regulations of abortion clinic protests ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
Massachusetts
ⓘ
surface form:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
|
| legalCharacterization | content-neutral time, place, and manner regulation (as argued by the state) ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
access to abortion clinics ⓘ freedom of speech ⓘ regulation of protests ⓘ |
| legislativeBody | Massachusetts General Court NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| purpose |
to protect patient access to reproductive health care facilities
ⓘ
to regulate protests outside reproductive health care facilities ⓘ |
| regulates |
conduct near reproductive health care facilities
ⓘ
protests near abortion clinics ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
abortion clinic protest regulations in the United States
ⓘ
abortion rights in the United States ⓘ |
| status | struck down as unconstitutional ⓘ |
| struckDownBy | Supreme Court of the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| struckDownInCase | McCullen v. Coakley NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| struckDownOnGrounds | violation of the First Amendment free speech clause ⓘ |
| subjectOf | McCullen v. Coakley NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| typeOfRestriction | fixed buffer zone ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
McCullen v. Coakley
→
lawChallenged
→
Massachusetts Reproductive Health Care Facilities Act (as amended in 2007)
ⓘ