Federal judge upholds buffer zones in front of Englewood abortion clinic

A protest-free buffer zone that surrounds an abortion clinic in Englewood has been deemed constitutional after years of litigation.

United States District Judge Susan Wigenton dismissed a lawsuit challenging the buffer zones on Aug. 12 and determined that the city’s buffer zone ordinance is constitutional.

The lawsuit was filed against the city in 2015 by Jeryl Turco, a resident of Neptune who regularly "approaches patients outside to dissuade them from obtaining an abortion." Turco alleged that her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly were being infringed.

The case involves an ordinance adopted by the city in 2014 that created buffer zones around certain health care facilities, including Metropolitan Medical Associates, an abortion clinic on Engle Street. The buffer barred the public from an area within 8 feet of clinic entrances.

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In November 2017, a U.S. district judge sided with Turco and struck down the buffer zone. The case was reopened in 2019 when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent it back to the federal court in New Jersey, writing that it wasn’t clear whether the ordinance prevented Turco from communicating her message.

The buffer zone ordinance was enacted after "militant activists and aggressive protestors associated with a religious organization called the Bread of Life" protested in front of MMA on Saturday mornings in 2013, the lawsuit said. It described the group as showing "extremely aggressive, loud, intimidating, and harassing behavior towards patients, their companions, and even other anti-abortion groups."

The 2014 ordinance was meant to "deescalate the situation at MMA by creating a degree of separation between the Bread of Life protestors and MMA patients, doctors, staff, companions, and escorts," the lawsuit said.

Turco, who is not a member of the Bread of Life protestors, instead described herself as a "sidewalk counselor." The lawsuit stated that since 2007, her goal has been to "calmly approach women entering MMA and attempt to engage in peaceful, nonconfrontational conversations."

Turco will usually run up to patients as they are arriving, and she "runs after and follows patients as they are leaving, for a block or more, even as they are going to their cars, and even as they are crossing Engle Street," according to the lawsuit.

The ordinance has resulted in "some obstruction" and "some difficulty" in her ability to speak with patients entering the building "at least 50 percent of the time," according to the lawsuit. The suit said that while avoiding the buffer zones, she was "forced to go out into the street" and that it "is compounded by the presence of cars, delivery trucks, and sometimes snow."

The lawsuit added that the Bread of Life protestors had also affected her ability to "communicate with patients, as they cause patients to run into the clinic as quickly as possible."

Wigenton said in her trial opinion that the burden on Turco’s speech is "not substantial" because the overall impact of the ordinance on her has been "relatively small."

"Plaintiff is still able to meet patients at some distance from the buffer zones and walk with them to the perimeter of the doorway buffer zone, giving her about 30 to 45 seconds to convey her message and hand them literature," Wigenton said in the opinion.

The lawsuit argued that the buffer zone ordinance was "overbroad," as it "creates buffer zones at all health care and transitional facilities without any legal justification to apply such a sweeping remedy to address problems at one location." However, Wigenton ruled that the lawsuit did not show that "substantial overbreadth" exists.

Wigenton said the ordinance was "applied only at the MMA clinic, given the unique history of harassment and violence at that site." She said Turco has not submitted evidence of its application at any transitional facilities.

Francis Manion, an attorney representing Turco, said he "respectfully disagreed" with the court’s decision and will be filing an appeal.

"This case is far from over," Manion said.

City Attorney William Bailey said the city was happy that the ordinance was upheld and that the court agreed that the ordinance struck a balance between free speech and protection for patients.

"When we drafted it, we really struggled to do a proper balance of First Amendment rights and free speech on one hand, yet providing safety for people going to the medical facilities and protecting their rights as well," Bailey said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Englewood NJ abortion clinic buffer zones upheld by judge