Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York
Encyclopedia
Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York, 519 U.S. 357
(1997), was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court
. It ruled in an 8-1 decision that speech-free "buffer zones" around abortion clinics were constitutional. The Court held that "fixed buffer zones" were constitutional, but "floating buffer zones" were not.
Paul Schenck
challenged a Federal District Court injunction that restricted "sidewalk counselors
" from approaching abortion clinic patients and others with Bible
s, tracts and pro-life
messages. The Court ruled in Schenck's favor, striking down the restrictions as a fundamental violation of the First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1997), was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. It ruled in an 8-1 decision that speech-free "buffer zones" around abortion clinics were constitutional. The Court held that "fixed buffer zones" were constitutional, but "floating buffer zones" were not.
Paul Schenck
Paul Schenck
Paul Chaim Benedicta Schenck is an ordained Catholic priest who is a pro-life activist along with his twin brother, Robert Schenck...
challenged a Federal District Court injunction that restricted "sidewalk counselors
Sidewalk counseling
Sidewalk counseling is a form of pro-life activism which is conducted outside of abortion clinics. 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 or to reconsider their position on the morality of...
" from approaching abortion clinic patients and others with Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s, tracts and pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
messages. The Court ruled in Schenck's favor, striking down the restrictions as a fundamental violation of the First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech.
See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 519
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
- Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
External links
- PBS NewsHour: "Drawing the Line"
- Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York on Cornell Law
- Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York on the California Anti-SLAPP Project
- Schenck v. Pro-Choice October 16, 1996
- Paul Schenck and Dwight Saunders, Petitioners v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York et al. on the Boston College Free Speech Library