Jan 13, 2014
The oral argument in the case of McCullen v. Coakley will be on Wednesday, January 15. The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts joined an amicus brief, along with 31 other organizations, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Massachusetts law establishing a buffer zone around abortion clinics. View the full amicus brief here.
The law establishing a 35-ft. buffer zone at abortion clinics was passed in 2007 to combat harassment and violence at the clinics. Two clinic employees in Brookline were murdered in 1994. The plaintiffs in the case seek to overturn the buffer zone law as an unconstitutional violation of free speech.
The LWVMA’s position on women’s reproductive rights dates back to 1972. The League has joined several amicus briefs in abortion rights cases before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and was a co-plaintiff in a case against Operation Rescue for physically blocking clinics.