Sidewalk counseling, also known as sidewalk interference,Access to Abortion Services Act
Retrieved December 19, 2012. is a form of anti-abortion activism conducted outside

abortion clinic An abortion clinic or abortion provider is a medical facility that provides abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers, private medical practices or nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Statistics Canada *There were ...

s. Activists seek to communicate with those entering the building, or with passersby in general, in an effort to persuade them not to have an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, or to consider their position on the

morality of abortion The abortion debate is a longstanding and contentious discourse that touches on the moral, legal, medical, and religious aspects of induced abortion. In English-speaking countries, the debate has two major sides, commonly referred to as the "pro- ...

.Hill v. Colorado (98-1856) 530 U.S. 703 (2000)
Retrieved December 13, 2006. Common tactics include engaging in conversation, displaying signs, distributing

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, or giving directions to nearby crisis pregnancy centers. Some anti-abortion organizations offer programs designed to train people in sidewalk counseling. The American Life League publishes "The Sidewalk Counselor's Guidebook" on its website. The "Chicago Method" is an approach to sidewalk counseling that involves giving those about to enter an abortion facility copies of

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

s filed against the facility or its

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

s. The name comes from the fact that it was first used by Pro-Life Action League in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Brochures summarizing the lawsuits, scandals, or negative findings of inspection reports can also be used. The intent of the Chicago Method is to dissuade women from obtaining abortion services at the facility.

Legal restrictions

Several jurisdictions in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

have "

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

" laws which limit how close to a clinic protesters can approach. In the 1997

court case Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' ...

, '' Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York'', anti-abortion activist Paul Schenck challenged a

U.S. district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

which restricted demonstrations to within 15-feet of four abortion clinics in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

state. The case came before the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, where Justices ruled 8–1 to uphold the constitutionality of a "fixed buffer zone" (the area around the clinic itself), but not that of a "floating buffer zone" (the area around objects in transit such as cars or people). In 1995, the '' Access to Abortion Services Act'' was passed in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It defines "sidewalk interference" as any attempt at "advising or persuading, or attempting to advise or persuade, a person to refrain from making use of abortion services," or "informing or attempting to inform a person concerning issues related to abortion services." It prevents such activities from being carried out within up to 50 metres of an abortion-providing facility. The ''Safe Access to Abortion Services Act, 2017'' in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

also prohibits "Advising a person to refrain from accessing abortion services" within a defined buffer zone of up to 150 metres. Anti-abortion advocates in the U.S. say that sidewalk counseling is a form of

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

protected by the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

References

{{Abortion Anti-abortion movements

Legal restrictions

See also

References