Abstract
At a time when the United States is sharply divided on women’s reproductive rights, the focus has shifted from legality to that of access to reproductive healthcare services. The binary (pro-choice/anti-choice) overlooks women who seek reproductive healthcare services for reasons other than abortion. Self-proclaimed sidewalk counselors approach these women to convince them that there are alternatives to abortion. In this way, the women who choose to ignore oftentimes risk being scolded, yelled at, harassed, and humiliated publicly. Many states have enacted buffer zone legislation to protect women trying to access reproductive healthcare clinics, but an overwhelming amount of these laws have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, based on the First Amendment rules. This article argues that sidewalk counselors and activists’ protesting against abortion outside of these clinics is futile, defending that buffer zones around reproductive healthcare facilities help protect women’s privacy and their right to access so they may obtain the reproductive healthcare they are entitled to receive.
Keywords:
reproductive healthcare clinics; abortion clinics; first amendment; sidewalk counselors; Roe v. Wade