{"id":212893,"date":"2019-10-23T08:36:32","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T13:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=212893"},"modified":"2019-10-22T21:01:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T02:01:03","slug":"pro-life-challenges-mississippi-buffer-zone-ordinance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pro-life-challenges-mississippi-buffer-zone-ordinance\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-life group challenges Mississippi town’s ‘buffer zone’ ordinance in court"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Pro-lifers in Jackson, Mississippi, are filing a lawsuit after a city passed an ordinance to silence pro-lifers and limit their ability to protest and dialogue outside of the state\u2019s only abortion facility.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, which was filed last week by volunteers for the pro-life organization Sidewalk Advocates for Life, says in its complaint<\/a> that the ordinance is overly broad, and is aimed largely at content-based speech. The ordinance in question was passed October 1st<\/a> and establishes a 15-foot \u201cbuffer zone\u201d around medical facilities, to include the city\u2019s abortion facility, as well as \u201cshouting\u201d in areas marked quiet zones. The lawsuit notes that members of the organization sometimes need to shout to be heard, since the abortion facility plays loud music to drown out pro-life voices.<\/p>\n

Sidewalk Advocates for Life told Catholic News Agency<\/a> that 7,000 women nationwide have sought life-affirming alternatives, including 30 women in Jackson alone this year, due to their presence outside abortion facilities. The ordinance would severely hinder their ability to offer women alternatives that Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization won\u2019t discuss, a development that would have a chilling effect on the free speech of pro-lifers.<\/p>\n

Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute spoke about the lawsuit. \u201cOur clients are engaging in quintessential free speech, and they are doing so peacefully and respectfully,\u201d he said, according to Life Site News<\/a>. \u201cThey care deeply for the unborn and feel morally led to offer life-affirming alternatives to people entering an abortion facility. Jackson\u2019s new ordinance is an attempt to silence our clients\u2019 speech, and we are proud to stand with them and defend their rights\u2026. Regardless of what anyone thinks of our clients\u2019 views, we should recognize that they have the right to hold those views. And just as importantly, they have the right to express those views, and to try to convince others to adopt their views. That is the very meaning of a free society.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Mississippi has one abortion facility left in the entire state<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But Attorney for the City of Jackson Tim Howard disagrees, according to WAPT<\/a>: \u201cThe Ordinance of the city of Jackson Prohibiting Certain Activities Near Healthcare Facilities is based on well-established case law and was passed after thorough consideration.\u201c<\/p>\n

Despite Howard\u2019s claim, Live Action News has previously reported<\/a> that, in 2014, the state of Mississippi agreed to stop interfering with the rights of pro-lifers to protest. That decree expired after one year. That same year, the Supreme Court case McCullen v. Coakley<\/a><\/em> unanimously ruled the practice of \u201cbuffer zones\u201d around abortion facilities or elsewhere are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

The state of Mississippi has strong free speech protections that may lend extra weight to the pro-lifers\u2019 complaint. \u201cIt says in our constitution that [free speech] is sacred\u2014 that it is something we hold with the utmost respect, treasure, and reverence,\u201d Brett Kittredge, director of marketing and communications with Mississippi Center for Public Policy told CNA<\/a>. \u201cAnd so we feel… that this is a free speech issue above all else. It’s not about whether you support one issue or the other, whether you take one side or another on abortion, it’s a matter of should people have the right to assemble, have the right to speak freely and convince others of their speech, and we believe that’s central to a free society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barring any potential injunction, the ordinance is currently set to go into effect at the end of October.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pro-lifers in Jackson, Mississippi, are filing a lawsuit after a city passed an ordinance to silence pro-lifers and limit their ability to protest and dialogue outside of the state\u2019s only abortion facility. The lawsuit, which was filed last week by volunteers for the pro-life organization Sidewalk Advocates for Life, says in its complaint that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":606,"featured_media":212919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nPro-life group challenges Mississippi town's 'buffer zone' ordinance in court<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pro-lifers in Jackson, Mississippi, are filing a lawsuit after the city passed an ordinance to silence pro-lifers outside the state's abortion facility.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pro-life-challenges-mississippi-buffer-zone-ordinance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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