Did a Colorado law set a precedent for abortion clinic “buffer zones” that restrict protesters?

In a 2000 decision in Hill v. Colorado, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to uphold a state law that limits protests outside abortion clinics and other health care facilities, creating a nationwide precedent for “buffer zone” laws.

The 1993 law makes it a misdemeanor in Colorado for someone to “knowingly” get within 8 feet of another person to protest, hold signs, counsel or distribute leaflets within 100 feet of any health care facility.  

The law was previously upheld by the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled the statute struck a balance between the right to medical care and the right to protest without violating free speech. 

On Feb. 24, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away two appeals seeking to overturn Hill v. Colorado as part of a legal dispute over an ordinance establishing a 100-foot protest buffer zone outside health facilities in Carbondale, Illinois.