{"id":164204,"date":"2017-03-23T11:37:49","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T15:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=164204"},"modified":"2017-03-23T11:44:25","modified_gmt":"2017-03-23T15:44:25","slug":"new-illinois-legislation-assign-harsh-penalties-sidewalk-counselors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/new-illinois-legislation-assign-harsh-penalties-sidewalk-counselors\/","title":{"rendered":"New Illinois legislation could assign harsh penalties to sidewalk counselors"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Four Illinois Democratic state representatives from Chicago have sponsored a state bill that could create not only a ‘bubble zone’ around abortion facilities, but could, due to the bill’s\u00a0broad and subjective language, subject sidewalk counselors to harsh penalties for speaking to those\u00a0entering abortion facilities.<\/p>\n

The Illinois Family Institute reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[HB 3735]\u00a0says counselors who are convicted of \u201cintimidation\u201d against pregnant mothers and staff members entering the abortion clinic will be subject to longer prison stays and\/or fines. Sponsored by State\u00a0Representatives\u00a0Deb Conroy\u00a0(D-Villa Park),\u00a0Silvana Tabares\u00a0<\/strong>(D-Chicago),\u00a0Greg Harris\u00a0<\/strong>(D-Chicago), and\u00a0John D\u2019Amico\u00a0<\/strong>(D-Chicago), HB 3735 adds acts of intimidation and violence in the vicinity of abortion clinics to the list of aggravating factors in the criminal code. An aggravating factor is a fact or circumstance that increases the severity or culpability of the criminal act. If this bill were to pass, people accused of intimidation will receive harsher sentences simply because they were near an abortion clinic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bubble zone laws —\u00a0laws which create special, restricted free speech boundaries around abortion facilities simply because they are abortion facilities — have almost always been found to be unconstitutional, as they have been deemed by the courts to be infringing on citizens’ First Amendment rights. As IFI points out:<\/p>\n

The U.S. Supreme Court has already held in\u00a0McCullen v. Coakley<\/em>\u00a0that buffer zones preventing sidewalk counselors from coming near an abortion clinic entrance unconstitutionally restrict free speech. It is unclear whether HB 3537 is broad enough to protect the free speech rights of those sidewalk counselors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

IFI points out the potential motivation behind the bill, saying,\u00a0“This bill may…\u00a0be unconstitutionally aimed to restrict pro-life speech over other forms of speech.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The city of Chicago currently has a different bubble zone law being challenged in court<\/a>, based on the assertion that it “has been selectively enforced against pro-lifers.” Live Action News’ Danny David noted:<\/p>\n

The\u00a0lawsuit alleges that in addition to the law itself being unconstitutional, police have\u00a0repeatedly\u00a0enforced it inaccurately and unjustly, including:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n