Westchester, NY rushes to revise abortion clinic law amid Supreme Court fears.

A New York County Reconsiders Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Law

A New⁣ York county is currently reevaluating a law that establishes a 100-foot buffer zone outside ⁤abortion clinics, just as the U.S. Supreme Court is on ​the verge of deciding whether to hear a ‌case ​challenging its constitutionality.

On Tuesday, the Westchester County⁤ Board ‌of Legislators ⁣will hold a public meeting to discuss potential amendments ‌to the “Clinic Access Law,” which was passed last‌ year. This ⁢law creates a 100-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics, prohibiting protesters and sidewalk counselors from being ⁣within 8 feet of anyone in⁣ the buffer zone.

The proposed amendment ⁣would not completely repeal the law, but rather remove the 8-feet provision. According to board ​documents, the legislators believe this provision is “difficult​ to enforce” and unnecessary for ensuring access to abortion clinics.

This reconsideration comes after the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the ‌buffer zone was constitutional, citing a precedent ⁣set by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hill ‌v. Colorado. ‌In that case, the court upheld a nearly identical ordinance in 2000.

However, the litigants in the current case are now appealing to the Supreme Court, hoping ⁣to overturn the Colorado precedent. Joe Davis, ⁢a counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit‍ legal ⁣organization representing the plaintiffs, claims that the county board is attempting ​to amend the law out of fear that the Supreme Court will take the case and​ establish a ⁣new national precedent.

“The county is afraid of our lawsuit and afraid of the Supreme Court,” Davis stated in an interview‍ with the Washington ​Examiner.⁤ “They know that this law is about ⁢to be struck down and Hill v. Colorado is about to be overruled when this ​case gets back to the court.”

Davis believes that ⁤the county’s efforts, supported​ by local Planned Parenthood, are a ⁣”desperate gambit” to prevent the overturning‌ of⁣ the Colorado precedent. However,⁢ he ⁤predicts that their ⁣attempt will⁣ be unsuccessful.

“It shouldn’t work, and it likely won’t work,” the ​attorney said. “And that’s because they‌ spent the ⁤last year enforcing this law, stopping people from engaging ⁤with sidewalk counselors, and you can’t just erase all that ⁢at the last minute.‌ And for‌ another thing, as soon​ as the case goes away, they could just turn around and reenact the same‌ law.”

The Becket Fund attorney believes that the legislators in Westchester are considering ⁣the national implications and‍ do not want to be the case that overturns the existing precedent.

“It really only underscores that everybody knows these kinds of laws ‍are unconstitutional and that it’s time for the court to ‍step in and make that official,” Davis concluded.

Planned Parenthood ⁢did not respond to a‌ request⁤ for comment.

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