Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

A bill is pending before the New York City Council
(Intro 826) that would restrict the free speech rights of peaceful pro-life
witnesses outside abortion clinics in the five boroughs of New York City.  The
bill is scheduled to be presented for a vote on Thursday, April 2.  The Catholic
Advocacy Network joins with the Catholic Community Relations Council in sharing
concerns about this legislation.  We urge you to read an article from the March
26 edition of Catholic New York (copied below), which explains the issue
in more detail and suggests contacting your local New York City Council member. 
You can find the name, address and email of your Council representative here:
http://council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml.

Bill Unfairly
Targets Pro-Life Witness

By Rosemary
Ginty

A bill is
pending before the New York City Council, Intro. 826, that would unfairly
restrict the free speech rights of peaceful pro-life witnesses outside of
abortion clinics. 

Proponents of
Intro. 826 argue that the bill is necessary to prevent people from blocking or
obstructing the entrances to abortion clinics, and to prohibit "harassment" of
those seeking to enter the clinics.

We entirely
support the idea that anyone who damages property, or commits a legitimate
offense against a person should be prosecuted.

But Intro. 826
goes far beyond that.  It unconstitutionally infringes on the First Amendment
right to free speech.  The proposal contains vague and uncertain terms, that are
left undefined and unclear.  This would chill the free speech rights of persons
seeking to provide information to women entering abortion clinics, out of fear
of an arrest or civil suit based on an ambiguous law.  It is a established
principle of constitutional law that any prohibition of speech must be very
clearly defined and very strictly limited, especially when the speech occurs in
a public forum like the city sidewalks.  Intro. 826 fails this
test.

Intro. 826 is
also unnecessary.  The kind of conduct targeted by the bill is already
prohibited by city, state and federal law.  There has been no outcry by law
enforcement agencies asking for stronger measures.  Indeed, there have been very
few violations of the current law — only five people have been arrested in New
York City since 2003 for violations of the state clinic access law, and only
four have been convicted.  There is clearly no significant problem that needs to
be addressed by Intro. 826.

Finally, this
bill is unfair to ordinary citizens who wish to express their basic
constitutional rights.  There is no doubt that this legislation is designed to
suppress pro-life speech, simply because influential pro-abortion interest
groups and profitable abortion clinics consider that speech to be
unacceptable.   But America was founded on the principles of individual liberty
that included the right to express your opinions, even if those opinions are
unpopular or disfavored by the powerful and rich.  Intro. 826 ignores these
fundamental principles.

And, ultimately,
Intro. 826 is unfair to women, who have a right to information before they make
the decision on whether or not to have an abortion.  Many of the women who
approach these clinics are in crisis — emotionally, socially, and
economically.  It is extraordinarily difficult to make any kind of decision in
such circumstances, much less a life-altering decision like an abortion.  So
many women come to regret their abortions, and have expressed a wish that they
had received more information about alternatives before entering the clinic. 
That is the purpose of the pro-life witness outside of clinics, and that is the
kind of speech that this bill unjustly seeks to
suppress.