NYCLU: Bill Safeguards Women’s Access to Reproductive Health Care, Respects Protestors’ Free Speech Rights

The New York Civil Liberties Union today testified before a City Council committee in support of a bill that would safeguard women’s access to reproductive health care clinics while protecting abortion opponents’ free speech rights.

Ami Sanghvi, a staff attorney with the NYCLU’s Reproductive Rights Project, addressed the Committee on Civil Rights at a hearing on the Clinic Access Bill, which would strengthen the existing clinic access law, enacted in 1995, that criminalizes the blocking of clinic entrances.

“We believe that the Clinic Access Bill strikes the appropriate balance between free speech and the right to access reproductive health care,” Sanghvi said. “It is a welcome step forward in fulfilling the city’s mission to protect access to health care services, while respecting the diversity of views of all New Yorkers.”

The bill would strengthen the existing law in the following ways:

• Makes it a crime to knowingly block or obstruct a clinic entrance. Currently, the law requires proof that a person blocking an entrance intends to prevent someone from obtaining or rendering reproductive health serves.
• Extends the protection to clinics’ driveways and parking lots, which more effectively ensures access.
• Clarifies that the law prohibits not just physical contact but also obstruction of entrances.
• Clarifies that clinics themselves and their staff can file complaints.

The bill would not disturb existing protections for peaceful protest at reproductive healthcare clinics. It would not prohibit abortion opponents from engaging in prayer vigils, sidewalk counseling, or leafleting outside clinics. It would prevent protestors from physically assaulting women, blocking access to clinics, damaging clinic facilities and harassing women within a 15-foot zone.

“We respect the right of abortion opponents to express their views and believe the law must respect those rights,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. “But the city also has an obligation to protect women seeking reproductive health care and the doctors and staff who provide that care. We urge the City Council to pass this sensible legislation, and once it’s passed, we expect the NYPD to fully enforce the law.”