PORTLAND (AP) — A federal judge says part of a free speech lawsuit against Maine’s largest city is dismissed because Portland repealed a buffer zone keeping anti-abortion protesters away from a Planned Parenthood entrance.
The Portland Press Herald reports U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen ruled the protesters can still seek damages for violation of their rights during the time the Portland buffer zone was in effect. An attorney for the protesters says the value of the damages is “anybody’s guess.”
Portland City Council enacted an ordinance in November establishing a 39- foot buffer around reproductive health clinics in response to protests outside Planned Parenthood’s Portland clinic. Protesters sued the city in February. Portland repealed its ordinance after a June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that buffer zones around Massachusetts clinics violated speech.
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