At Wednesday's public hearing: MassResistance bill to REPEAL the unconstitutional buffer zone around abortion clinics

Also more bills to testify for (and against) -- see below

POSTED: June 7, 2011

The "Transgender Rights and Hate Crimes" bill is not the only important bill being heard at the Massachusetts State House this Wednesday (Gardner Auditorium, State House, 1 pm).

This year, with the help of Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) and Rep. Jim Lyons (R-Andover), MassResistance filed H2239: "An Act Restoring Free Speech and Public Access."  This bill would repeal the unconstitutional 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics.

This "buffer zone" is an offensive and humiliating affront to free speech and assembly. The law was crafted specifically to stop pro-life counselors and protesters on public sidewalks near abortion clinics. It also in effect gives police free rein to abuse them for real or imagined offenses as they attempt to stay outside of the "barrier". Activist Massachusetts courts have (not surprisingly) upheld the law and the US Supreme Court has refused to take it up. But it is clearly an affront to any commonly understood interpretation of the First Amendment, and certainly the sanctity of unborn children. Thus, MassResistance felt compelled to file this bill.

It's a very concise bill:

Text of Bill H2239: An Act Restoring Free Speech and Public Access

SECTION I. Chapter 266 of the General Laws, as so appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by repealing Section 120E1/2.

We hope that good people will be there on Wednesday to support it.

Other important bills that day

There are a total of 35 bills that will be heard at the hearing that day.

Three others to pay attention to:

HB482 - "An Act Relative to a Woman's Right to Know," also known as "Laura's Law." This would require abortion providers to inform women about the alternatives to abortion, specify the characteristics of her unborn baby, and give the mother other information.

HB484 - "An Act relative to sex selection in pregnancy." Would ban abortions for sex selection.

HB2233 - "An Act relative to death with dignity." Would legalize Physician Assisted Suicide in Massachusetts. (NOTE: This is not on the list of bills for that day on the State House website, but on the bill's web page it says it WILL be heard that day.)  We fought this one successfully last year, but it's back again.