Commonwealth Policy Center

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Louisville ordinance that stopped sidewalk counselors from talking to women outside an abortion clinic. The city of Louisville called it a “buffer zone.” But the 10-foot-wide perimeter around healthcare facilities and abortion clinics prevented sidewalk counselors from talking to pregnant women heading into abortion clinics who intended to end the life of their unborn child. To be clear, most sidewalk counselors are people trying to help these women and their unborn children, but the Louisville Metro Council didn’t see it that way. Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed an amicus brief in support of the sidewalk counselors, and the court ruled in their favor stating that the buffer zone likely violates the First Amendment, which makes this ruling an important victory for freedom of speech.