The U.S. Supreme Court chose not to revisit its earlier decision supporting protective “bubble” zones around abortion clinics, dismissing a challenge brought by a Catholic woman from New York. The woman, Debra Vitagliano, contested a now-repealed Westchester County law that restricted protests and “sidewalk counseling” near abortion clinics following the court’s national abortion rights reversal in 2022.
The justices refused to entertain Vitagliano’s appeal against the lower court’s dismissal of her lawsuit, which argued that the Westchester County law violated the First Amendment right to free speech. Located north of New York City, the county implemented the law just three days after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, aiming to ensure public safety and protect access to reproductive healthcare centers.
The county later repealed the “bubble zone” aspect of the law, deeming it unnecessary and challenging to enforce, leading them to argue that the case had become irrelevant.
Westchester’s law established an 8-foot (2.4-meter) “bubble zone” around individuals within 100 feet of an abortion clinic, preventing anyone from approaching them without consent for protests, displaying signs, counseling, education, or information sharing.
Vitagliano sought to challenge the precedent set by the Supreme Court in 2000 with Hill v. Colorado, which upheld a similar 8-foot bubble zone law in Colorado. Despite her efforts, the 6-3 conservative majority declined to reconsider this precedent.
Demonstrations outside abortion clinics have been a common occurrence in the United States, with some protesters attempting to counsel women against terminating pregnancies.
Beth Sousa, a senior policy advisor at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, emphasized the increase in clinic violence since the 2022 Supreme Court decision. Sousa argued that the zones strike a balance between protecting against violence, harassment, and threats while respecting free speech rights.
In 2014, the justices invalidated a Massachusetts law that prohibited standing within 35 feet of an abortion clinic’s entrance or driveway, deeming it overly broad.
Vitagliano, a 65-year-old abortion opponent, believes abortion is the “deliberate taking of innocent human life” and aimed to perform sidewalk counseling at a Planned Parenthood clinic in White Plains, north of New York City. However, both a trial judge and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in compliance with Hill v. Colorado, stating that Westchester’s law aligns with the First Amendment.
