Keep your distance: Supreme Court takes up protesters outside abortion clinics (+video)

Massachusetts requires protesters to stay 35 feet away from abortion clinics. Opponents arguing before the US Supreme Court Wednesday said the law hinders the free speech of antiabortion counselors.

A Massachusetts law that authorizes a 35-foot, speech-free buffer zone around abortion clinics appears to be in serious jeopardy following a contentious hour-long hearing at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday.

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The state law was passed in 2007 in an effort to prevent antiabortion protesters from obstructing clinic entrances and harassing or intimidating patients.

Massachusetts has a history of obstructionist and, at times violent, protests at clinics. But not all antiabortion opponents are violent or even loud.

The case before the high court involves a group of antiabortion counselors who seek the opportunity to speak quietly with women who are about to have an abortion.

Their goal is clear; they want to talk them out of ending their pregnancy. And their tactics involve a decidedly undramatic approach that would never make an evening newscast. A lawyer described the tactic as quiet conversation.

Their lawyer, Mark Rienzi, argues that the First Amendments protects their right to engage in conversations on a public sidewalk including a public sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic.

This approach of focusing on non-confrontational aspects of antiabortion speech makes the case different than other abortion clinic obstruction cases heard by the high court. And it highlights the difficulty of enacting a broad prohibition of speech within a 35-foot zone without also treading on someones free speech rights.

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Keep your distance: Supreme Court takes up protesters outside abortion clinics (+video)