The U.S. Supreme Court declined to reconsider its previous decision allowing buffer zones around abortion clinics, which restrict anti-abortion activists from “sidewalk counseling” near clinics.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito disagreed, arguing the case deserved review. The Court’s 2000 decision in Hill v. Colorado upheld similar laws, which anti-abortion groups have since tried to overturn.
Coalition Life, an anti-abortion group, led the challenge, supported by conservative attorneys. They argued the buffer zone law violated free speech rights. However, the Court refused to revisit Hill, with opponents of the decision asserting it was wrongly decided.
In a separate case, the Court also declined to review a challenge to Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot requirement, maintaining a ruling that upholds a rule requiring handwritten dates on ballot envelopes. Despite arguments it served no purpose, the Court supported the law’s continued enforcement.
