Members of the Virginia state Senate are considering a bill that would prevent abortion rights opponents from blocking access to clinics.
When does free speech become an obstruction? That's what members of the Virginia State Senate are asking as they consider legislation that would prevent abortion rights opponents from blocking access to clinics. Dennis Petrocelli says people who oppose abortion rights are there to exercise their right to free speech.
"None of us that I work with outside of abortion clinics obstruct, block, harass or intimidate. We stand there with literature," Petrocelli says. "If women are willing to take it, we give it to them."
Courts have rejected efforts to create a buffer, but state Senator Stella Pekarsky – a Democrat from Fairfax County – says her bill creates a bubble.
"This is bubble legislation. It creates a very tight area around the health care facility, and this type of legislation has been upheld in the courts as constitutional," Pekarsky says.
Abortion rights advocates are expecting a legal challenge to whatever legislation is approved on this, and so they’re hoping they can figure out ways to anticipate pitfalls to a 40-foot bubble, and make sure the language can withstand scrutiny in the courts.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
