Court Makes Restraining Order on Anti-Abortion Protests at Clinic Permanent
The Sacramento Superior Court on Friday made permanent a temporary restraining order on anti-abortion protests outside a Sacramento reproductive health clinic and expanded the number of clinics covered by the order, the Sacramento Bee reports. In his ruling, Judge Thomas Cecil said protesters used bullhorns to intimidate women seeking services, and demonstrators carrying signs blocked access to the clinic driveway.
Several protest activities -- such as obstructing access to the clinic, photographing patients and shouting at clinic staff -- were prohibited through court orders in 1990 and 2004. Those limitations applied to other groups that oppose abortion rights.
Last month Women's Health Specialists, formerly known as the Feminist Women's Health Center, asked the court to extend those limitations to include the anti-abortion group Sanctity of Human Life Network, which accepted the ruling at Friday's hearing (Coronado, Sacramento Bee, 6/11).