Colorado pro-life sidewalk counselor battles state 'bubble law' she says curtails First Amendment
A Colorado woman who offers abortion alternatives outside clinics is battling a state law that prohibits her from approaching someone too closely, warning the rule has turned what she considers a compassionate conversation into a legal risk.Wendy Faustin, a pro-life sidewalk counselor challenging Colorado's so-called "bubble law," told Fox News Digital the restrictions prevent her from quietly offering women information about pregnancy resource centers, adoption agencies and other alternatives to abortion."If you're within 100 feet of the entrance to an abortion clinic, I can't approach someone within 8 feet to give them any alternative information," Faustin said.Last July, a federal judge rejected her challenge to the Colorado law.Her case is currently on appeal at the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.CHRISTIAN WOMAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO NEW 'ORWELLIAN' CHARGES FOR STANDING AND SILENT PRAYERWendy Faustin is a pro-life advocate and sidewalk counselor.(Zoom screenshot)Colorado state law and a Denver municipal ordinance prohibit individuals from knowingly approaching within eight feet of another person without their consent to distribute literature or engage in protest, education or counseling within 100 feet of a health care facility entrance, including abortion clinics.
Violations are classified as a petty offense, which carries with it a fine or even a possible short jail sentence.The U.S.Supreme Court upheld Colorado's 1993 law in its 2000 decision in Hill v.
Colorado, ruling that the restrictions did not violate the First Amendment.The restriction, she said, forces her to speak from a distance about an intensely personal subject, potentially allowing others to overhear conversations she would prefer to keep private."I would rather be able to just walk up to somebody, offer them alternative information, places where they can get help," she said.PRO-LIFE GROUP SAYS MAIL-ORDER ABORTION PILLS VIOLATE FEDERAL LAW, URGES TRUMP ADMIN TO TAKE ACTIONPro-life ...