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Photo by dollbabytina from a tribute to Dr. George Tiller at Thompson Center earlier this year. Tiller was shot and killed allegedly by an anti-abortion activist May 31st. Since his death there has been a "significant surge in the size and viciousness" of anti-abortion protests according to Planned Parenthood
During the Council meeting protesters chanted in the hallway and a crowd of demonstrators gathered around the front doors of City Hall on La Salle St. Pro-Life activists denounced the approval of the ordinance as a violation of their First Amendment rights and vowed to fight.
The ordinance was championed by Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) who told Chicago Breaking News workers and patients going to the Near North Health Center, a Planned Parenthood location, have complained about conditions, "Women seeking any kind of medical service are routinely harassed" she said, "they are photographed, and they are followed."
Ald. Brian Doherty (41st) who cast a "no" vote told the Sun-Times, "I am pro-life. I do not apologize for that. And I am Roman Catholic. They tried to frame it as as safety issue and it's not." He said the issue belongs in the U.S. Supreme Court, or the Illinois General Assembly.
The ordinance was patterned after a Colorado law (requiring a stricter protective radius of 100 ft.) which has the approval of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Wanna stop a pro-lifer in their tracks? Ask them this -- if you think that is abortion is murder, what should be the jail sentence for a woman who has an abortion? Oh wait, someone already did.
thanks for that video.
Right on.
Cheers to the council! Something I thought I'd never say..
Hells to the yes. I'm all about free speech, but having been a clinic escort, I can say the protesters are not speaking nearly as much as they're assaulting and sometimes beating on escorts and patients. I've had stuff thrown at me, been gouged with keys, not to mention the literally countless times I've had a protester literally in face screaming (that's assault, yo).
I agree that an 8 feet zone of protection is fair. Meanwhile, the leafleters claim that they cannot leaflet from 8 feet away.
I have done a lot of leafleting over the years for various causes (yes, Republicans sometimes support causes that involve leafleting).
Based on those experiences, I think that you CAN leaflet from eight feet away. You speak loud and clear and hold up your leaflet. If the person wants your leaflet, he can walk over to you and get it.
I hope that this ordinance holds up when the inevitable court challenge comes.
Every once in a while the Chicago city council wakes up from its stupor and does something to remind people they are democrats.
Basing it on a settled, at the Supreme Court no less, law is smart. Of course the fundies will wind up their organs and drag their monkeys into court claiming they are being oppressed no matter what. Aw, the bastards are being oppressed.
They'll just measure, to the millimeter, 50 feet all around and get bigger signs. Cause they're fanatic misogynists who hate women so much they can barely breathe.