Power

This Case Could Usher in a Fresh Wave of Abortion Clinic Harassment

Conservatives want the Supreme Court to overturn one of the last bits of precedent protecting abortion providers and their patients from harassment.

Photo of protesters holding signs protecting abortion access in front the Supreme Court
Hill v. Colorado is the last remaining Supreme Court precedent protecting the public from protesters approaching them and harassing them. Rewire News Group

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In the year following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion providers and patients saw a terrifying escalation in threats and acts of violence against them. As I first reported in this space two months ago, incidents like stalking were up a horrific 229 percent after the Supreme Court struck down Roe. The violence and intimidation is almost too much to wrap your head around.

But what if I told you that the Becket Fund, a conservative legal advocacy organization, could make the entire situation much, much worse?

In a petition filed with the Supreme Court this week, the Becket Fund has asked the Court to overturn one of the last bits of precedent protecting abortion providers and their patients from harassment from clinic protesters under the guise of the First Amendment.

Back in 2000, the Court upheld a Colorado law that restricted demonstrations around health-care facilities by creating protest-free bubbles around patients and those facilities. These “bubble zones” prevent protesters from coming within 100 feet of a health-care facility’s entrance generally, while also prohibiting them from approaching within eight feet of a patient (without their consent) for the purpose of demonstrating at them.

That case, Hill v. Colorado, is the last remaining precedent protecting the public from protesters approaching them and harassing them. And under the guise of “protecting free speech,” the Roberts Court could sweep it all away.

It’s already underway. You might remember the “plump grandmas,” who I wrote about back in 2014. The Massachusetts “sidewalk counselors” helped flip the narrative—and law—around protesting in front of and near abortion clinics. I wrote in that piece:

As Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority pointed out, the violent face of the anti-choice movement was not before the Court in McCullen v. Coakley. The “gentle” grandmas were … What better way to make the case for gutting protections for patients and providers than to flip the script and make grandma the real victim?

Well, they’re back, more or less. Except instead of “plump grandmas,” we have Debra Vitagliano, a “devout Catholic and occupational therapist for children with special needs,” hardcore clinic protester, and the face of the Becket Fund’s case that could usher in a fresh wave of harassment targeting abortion patients and providers.

It will be months before we know if the Supreme Court decides to even take the case, but there is a very real possibility the justices will—and for this upcoming term. It was almost ten years ago that the Roberts Court first undertook a dramatic rewriting of the rights of anti-abortion protesters over patients and providers. This could be the case that gives conservatives a chance to finish the job.