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| Debra Vitagliano |
Vitagliano was prevented from offering assistance to abortion-minded women outside abortion businesses in Westchester County, New York due to the county's buffer zone law. The law prohibits sidewalk counselors from interacting with others within 100 ft of an abortion business without explicit consent.
She attempted to challenge the law in court, but the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Westchester County's law falls within the legal boundaries established by the Supreme Court's 2000 ruling in Hill v. Colorado. The court ruled that Vitagliano had standing to ask the Supreme Court to review Hill v. Colorado, so she did.
Becket, the law firm representing Vitagliano, expressed optimism that the Supreme Court will take up the case:
"Westchester County’s law is modeled after and materially identical to the Colorado law that the Supreme Court upheld in Hill. But legal scholars and judges have long criticized Hill, and last year five Justices of the Supreme Court stated that Hill was a major departure from our nation’s protections of free speech. Debra’s case presents an ideal opportunity for the Supreme Court to right Hill’s wrong and protect all those who want to serve abortion-vulnerable women."
The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to take the case this fall.
