2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV) “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God…”
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Massachusetts law requiring a 35 foot zone around abortion clinics where pro-life protesters could not speak to women seeking an abortion is unconstitutional.
Court observers were surprised to see the law was struck down in a unanimous ruling.
Chief Justice John Roberts said that authorities have less intrusive ways to deal with problems outside abortion clinics without violating the free speech rights of pro-life activists.
The decision, while unanimous, was not without some dissent. The chief justice joined with the court’s four liberal justices on a narrow ruling that this particular law was unconstitutional. The court’s four conservative justices issued briefs expressing concerns.
Justice Antonin Scalia criticized the majority opinion for continuing “this court’s practice of giving abortion-rights advocates a pass when it comes to suppressing the free-speech rights of their opponents.”
The Massachusetts law replaced an earlier law that created a “six foot bubble” around unwilling listeners if they were within 18 feet of the clinic. The “floating zone” was modeled after a Colorado law that has been upheld in the past by the Court.
