Today, the Supreme Court will begin to hear arguments over the legality of buffer zones around abortion clinics that prevent pro-life advocates from demonstrating within a designated proximity to the facilities. The “floating” zones stop the demonstrators from actually approaching members of the staff or patients themselves. The case’s lead plaintiff, Eleanor McCullen, has been standing outside of a Boston Planned Parenthood clinic twice a week for more than a decade. McCullen, who is a prison chaplain and member of the organization Operation Rescue, told NPR that the case is about her First Amendment-ensured rights: “It’s America. I should be able to walk and talk gently, lovingly, anywhere with anybody.” Advocates of the current law point to the fact that buffer zones also exist at polling stations and even the Supreme Court itself …
