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| photo credit: Ben Schumin / Flickr |
The ordinance, as written, would have banned all forms of sidewalk counseling, prayer, and protest in painted zones outside all medical facility entrances. The city showed its true intentions, however, when it only painted these zones around the city's two abortion businesses.
After the Supreme Court struck down a similar Massachusetts law in 2014, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals surprised many by upholding the Pittsburgh ordinance. The way they did this, however, is even more surprising. The court ruled in October 2019 that the ordinance does not apply to sidewalk counseling, but it does apply to prayer, standing with a pro-life sign, or wearing a pro-life button.
ADF is arguing that the court overstepped its authority by essentially rewriting the city's ordinance to comply with Supreme Court precedent. “[The Appeals court] upheld the modified ordinance’s prohibition against other types of pro-life expression,” the organization said in a press release. “ADF is arguing that the lower court lacked the authority to rewrite the ordinance and should have declared it unconstitutional in any event.”
The Supreme Court has not yet stated whether it will take this case.
