Female Politicians Defend Women's Reproductive Rights

This week across the state of Massachusetts, female politicians are saying it loud and clear: Don’t mess with women’s reproductive rights.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Martha Coakley traveled to Washington D.C. to defend the Massachusetts’s 2007 Buffer Zone law at the Supreme Court. The law requires that protestors remain 35 feet away from the entrance of abortion clinics in order to curtail the verbally and physically harassment of women entering clinics. 

America has a lengthy history of violence around abortion clinics. I know from personal experience that anti-choice protestors verbally provoke and physically intimidate women who are attempting to walk into a medical clinic. It is no easy feat to enter a clinic while being physically obstructed and being called a “baby killer.”

Luckily, Massachusetts officials are standing behind the Buffer Zone. Maura Healy, a candidate for Attorney General, expressed her support in an op-ed: “The buffer zone… is justified by a lengthy and unfortunate history of obstruction and violence at these facilities.” she said.

The Supreme Court must uphold the Buffer Zone Law and ensure that women across the Commonwealth can access healthcare safely. 

Hailey Magee

Waltham, MA

@haileymagee