The U.S. Supreme Court declined to reconsider its earlier ruling that permitted the establishment of buffer zones around abortion clinics, despite opposition from two of its most conservative justices.
In two separate orders, the court announced it would not entertain challenges to laws in Carbondale, Illinois, and Englewood, New Jersey, which prohibit anti-abortion activists from engaging in “sidewalk counseling” with individuals approaching abortion clinics. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito expressed their willingness to review the case; however, four justices’ votes are required for such a review to proceed.
Lower courts upheld the ordinances in both cities, referencing the Supreme Court’s decision in Hill v. Colorado from 2000, which determined that a comparable law in Colorado did not infringe upon the First Amendment rights.
