A federal judge has dismissed part of a freedom of speech lawsuit against the city of Portland now that the city has repealed a buffer zone that kept anti-abortion protesters away from the entrance to Planned Parenthood’s Congress Street health center.
But the protesters can still seek damages for the violation of their constitutional rights during the time the buffer zone was in effect, according to the decision handed down Monday by U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen, who was acting on the city’s motion to dismiss the case.
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“How much that’s worth monetarily is anybody’s guess, but it’s worth something,” said Steve Whiting, the local attorney for the protesters.
He said they will also be seeking attorney’s fees, “which will be significant.”
The Portland City Council enacted an ordinance in November that established a 39-foot buffer zone around reproductive health clinics in response to weekly protests outside the city’s only such clinic, Planned Parenthood on Congress Street, where activists hand out information about choosing alternatives to abortion and hold signs with images of aborted fetuses.
Protesters filed a lawsuit against the city in February and sought an injunction forcing the city to rescind the buffer zone.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that 35-foot buffer zones around clinics in Massachusetts violated free-speech rights and, a few weeks later, the Portland council repealed its ordinance. The city then filed a motion to dismiss the case.
City spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said the city wanted to consult with the court about how the rest of the case will be handled before commenting on the ruling.
Some members of the council have said they want to pursue other regulations that would protect patients at the health clinic and pass legal muster.
This month, the council’s Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee recommended that the city seek a state law allowing police to create a temporary buffer zone around abortion clinics if protesters attempt to block access to the facilities.
Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill in July that allows police to order the dispersal of gatherings that impede access to reproductive health clinics and then to establish a 25-foot buffer zone for the next eight hours that applies only to the people who were told to disperse.
Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
Twitter: lesliebridgers
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