PORTLAND, Maine — A legal challenge to Portland's city ordinance that establishes a buffer zone around entrances to women's health clinics from which anti-abortion protesters are barred is being heard by a federal judge.
The Portland Press Herald reports that attorneys are scheduled to make their cases Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland.
Portland approved the creation of a 39-foot zone around entrances to reproductive health care facilities in November. The city has one Planned Parenthood clinic.
Supporters say it protects patients from harassment.
In February, a Shapleigh family filed a challenge. Daniel and Marguerite Fitzgerald and their children say the zone violates their constitutional free speech rights and their rights that prohibit unlawful search and seizure.
A similar case in Massachusetts could soon be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.