A federal judge on Friday upheld the enforcement of a Pittsburgh ordinance that establishes a 15-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon issued the ruling in the case of Verona abortion protester Nikki Bruni, who sued the city last year along with other protesters who say the zone kept them from conducting “sidewalk counseling” of women entering the Planned Parenthood facility on Liberty Avenue to have abortions.
Ms. Bruni and four other women represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious advocacy group, argued in December for an injunction against the ordinance, after which the judge said she would issue an opinion later.
Lawyers for the city argued that the zone is “content neutral” because it applies to other health facilities, although in court they conceded that it’s not an issue anywhere else but in front of the city’s two abortion clinics.
The judge on Friday denied the protesters’ request for the injunction, saying their First Amendment rights are not being infringed by the zone.
“While plaintiffs’ message is restricted in that they cannot continue to walk alongside women as they approach within fifteen feet of the entrance, that method of communication is not foreclosed or effectively stifled,” she wrote.
She dismissed most of the protesters’ claims against the city except for one that said the city has selectively enforced the ordinance because, according to the plaintiffs, Planned Parenthood escorts are allowed to congregate inside the buffer zone and talk to women but protesters can’t.
Judge Bissoon denied the city’s request to dismiss the case on that issue, meaning the suit can continue on that claim. She also dismissed Pittsburgh City Council as a defendant, because council only passed the ordinance but does not enforce it, but allowed the suit to continue against Mayor Bill Peduto, whose office is responsible for enforcement.
She gave the city until March 20 to file an answer to the remaining claim.
The ordinance was established in 2005. It later was modified when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an 8-foot “bubble zone” that kept protesters from approaching individuals close enough to hand out leaflets.
Elissa Graves, an Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer, described the buffer zone as a “censorship zone,” and said her organization is considering an appeal.
“Americans, including those who are pro-life, have the freedom to speak with whomever they please on public sidewalks,” she said in a statement.
First Published: March 7, 2015, 1:24 a.m.
Updated: March 7, 2015, 4:43 a.m.
