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Fast Facts
Protection from Clinic Violence
Why are specific laws needed to address violence directed at reproductive-health providers and their patients? |
Women's painful, real-world experiences have shown that general laws prohibiting violence and intimidation do not provide sufficient protection against the unlawful and often violent tactics used by some opponents of abortion rights. Laws protecting women and providers from violence and intimidation are critical to preserving the right to choose and ensuring that reproductive-health clinics remain operable. The federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) and similar state clinic protection laws provide this critical protection. |
CURRENT STATE LAWS16 states and the District of Columbia have laws that protect health-care facilities, providers, and/or patients from blockades, harassment, and/or other violence: CA, CO, CT, DC, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NV, NY, NC, OR, WA, WI.
3 of these states have buffer zones that protect patients and clinic personnel from unwanted harassment within specified distances from clinics: CO, MA, MT. |
CURRENT FEDERAL LAWSThe Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) provides federal protection against the unlawful and often violent tactics used by abortion opponents. It provides civil remedies and criminal penalties for a range of violent, obstructive, or threatening conduct directed at reproductive-health providers or patients. Courts repeatedly have upheld the law as constitutional, and experts credit FACE as a significant factor in reducing clinic violence. |
2009 ENACTED STATE LEGISLATION1 state enacted 1 measure that would extend its current clinic-violence protection law to protect reproductive-health professionals at their residences: NC. |
2009 NOTABLE DEVELOPMENTS
On May 31, Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider in Kansas, was murdered while serving as an usher in his church. Dr. Tiller's death marks the first murder of an abortion provider since the killing of Dr. Barnett Slepian in 1998. In response, the Department of Justice, in coordination with the office of the Sedgwick County District Attorney (KS), launched a federal investigation into the case to assess potential violations of the FACE Act and/or other federal statutes.
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| For a map of all states with Protection from Clinic Violence - click here. | |
