Editorial Supports Massachusetts Buffer Zone

The Boston Globe ran an editorial in support of proposed state legislation that would create a fixed 35-foot buffer zone around reproductive health care clinic entrances. The bill would also eliminate the vague consent language present in the current law, which creates a “floating” zone of 6 feet, within a larger radius of 18 feet, inside which no one may approach a patient entering a clinic without her consent. However, the debate over what constitutes consent has made the law difficult to enforce. For this reason, Boston police district Captain William Evans testified in favor of the new bill.

Last week the Massachusetts Senate passed this bill, and this week it was approved in the House as well. The Boston Globe said “the bill protects public safety, medical privacy, and free speech.”