The First Amendment to the US Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech…”
Today, the US Supreme Court {SCOTUS} unanimously struck down Massachusetts’ abortion clinic buffer zone law for abridging freedom of speech. We pro-lifers want to cheer the decision as it restores our freedom to save lives by witnessing to abortion-minded mothers as they approach these clinics.
Our enthusiasm for the court’s ruling must be tempered by its narrow scope. Three justices would have ruled such zones are always unconstitutional, but the majority ruled only this particular speech restriction unacceptable, mostly because Massachusetts hasn’t exhausted other possible remedies for the perceived problem and the restricted zone was too large.
One can only marvel at the genius it takes to rule that ‘no law abridging’ means “unless you meet the rules we’ll make it up as we go along”. The Court has failed in its primary duty: to make the Constitution clear.
NH’s buffer zone law may or may not pass the new test(s). While the NH has not even tried any alternative remedies [Law fails], the allowed speech restriction zone may be much smaller than the Mass. zone [Law stands] .
I’m hopeful that the lower level courts will read this decision and demand NH try to find some alternative to violating our 1st Amendment rights, but they might allow the law to stand and both we and the State will spend [waste] enormous sums to pay lawyers to get SCOTUS to clarify what should have been crystal clear in the first place..
However the courts rule, whatever law the State passes, we still follow the higher law: it’s always wrong to kill innocent humans.
