Boston ramps up police presence around abortion clinics after Supreme Court ruling

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/26/boston-ramps-up-police-presence-around-abortion-clinics-after-supreme-court-ruling/

Boston ramps up police presence around abortion clinics after Supreme Court ruling
By Reuters
Thursday, June 26, 2014 19:02 EDT

BOSTON (Reuters) – Boston will deploy extra police around the city’s abortion clinics starting on Friday to prevent potential unrest after the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down the state’s “buffer law” keeping protesters back 35 feet (11 meters).

“We will have an increased police presence around these facilities tomorrow from 7:30 a.m. to noon, at which point we will assess,” said Kate Norton, spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Martin Walsh. “There is always concern when a measure that has been put in place for public safety is removed.”

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the Massachusetts law that mandates a protective buffer zone around abortion clinics to allow patients unimpeded access.

On a 9-0 vote, the court said the 2007 law violated the free speech rights of anti-abortion protesters under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by preventing them from standing on the sidewalk and speaking to people entering the clinics.