A Catholic sidewalk counselor on Friday petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse an earlier ruling that allowed states to enforce laws targeting pro-life counseling outside abortion clinics.
Westchester County, New York, following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of Roe v. Wade in June 2020 passed it The law establishes a 100-foot “buffer zone” outside abortion clinics, making it illegal to approach another person without their consent to “verbal protest, education or counseling.” This law is similar to the law upheld by the Supreme Court in Hill v. Colorado in 2000. decisionsidewalk counselor Debra Vitaliano is now receiving Beckett Law assistance. ask to be overturned by a judge.
“No one should be arrested and jailed for engaging in peaceful, face-to-face conservation activities on public sidewalks,” Beckett president and CEO Mark Lienzi said. statement. “The court should correct Hill and make clear that the provision of assistance and information to women in need is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
sidewalk counselor asked #scotas Today, to affirm her ability to provide compassionate support to women at risk of abortion. This follows a federal appeals court that leaves a law covering peaceful conversations on public sidewalks outside abortion clinics.
— Beckett (@BECKETlaw) July 21, 2023
in Westchester County law Imprisonment of up to six months or $1,000 for first conviction, and fines of one year or $5,000 for subsequent offenses.
The petition said Vitaliano had just completed a course on counseling women vulnerable to abortion and began volunteering as a “life consultant” at a local pregnancy center when the county passed the law. Her petition states that the county passed the bill just three days after the Supreme Court handed down Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned Roe v. Wade, even though the county “recognized that Mr. Hill’s position was precarious and ripe for overturning.”
“I am called upon to be a voice of compassion for women at risk of abortion and to play a role in letting them know that they are loved and supported and that they can choose life for their baby,” Vitaliano said in a statement. “I hope the judge will take up this case and allow him to help women in need.”
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