Detroit Evening Report: Detroit advances ordinance setting protest restrictions at health clinics

Detroit is another step closer to passing an ordinance that would put some limits on protesters outside health care facilities.

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The proposed ordinance would create a 100-foot zone where protesters could not come within eight feet of a patient entering the facility without their consent. It would also restrict people from gathering or picketing within 15 feet of the entrance.

While the ordinance would apply to any health care facility in the city, supporters say it’s most needed at clinics providing abortion services. Abortion rights opponents call it a violation of their First Amendment rights.

Monica Miller is a self-identified “pro-life sidewalk counselor” who said she’s been doing that in Detroit “for literally decades.” She told council members during a hearing Monday that a buffer zone would restrict them from engaging in “real human interaction.”

“We approach the moms. We accompany them. We talk to them,” Miller said. “We show them love and compassion and give them real material help so that they will turn away from their decision to abort their children.”

But ordinance supporters say that’s exactly the point. They say patients at clinics are routinely harassed and intimidated by protesters, often by people who come from outside the city or state to do so.

Council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who’s sponsoring the proposed ordinance, said she witnessed such tactics during a recent clinic visit. She said one man who mistook her for a patient approached her directly, using inflammatory language meant to inflict “psychological pain.”

“So we do have people from outside of the city coming and telling our residents what to do with their bodies,” Santiago-Romero said. “And quite frankly, it is not all peaceful.”

A person found guilty of violating the ordinance would be subject to a misdemeanor penalty and fine. The council is expected to hold a final vote on the issue next week.

-Reporting by Sarah Cwiek, Michigan Public

Other headlines for Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024:

• A new report on Michigan’s economy from the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics shows more residents have jobs now than at any time in the past 20 years. 
• The Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult Day Program will be offering a dementia-friendly Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur service at 11 a.m. this Sunday for the Jewish High Holidays. 
• This Wednesday is Student Count Day in Michigan — one of two days during the school year when school attendance is used to determine school funding. 
• The city of Detroit is offering free flu vaccinations from noon-3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at the Coleman A Young Municipal Center. Those interested are asked to register at flu.vna.org and enter the Clinic ID 2654 and the Clinic Passcode xtuca8m. Complete and bring the Assessment and Consent Form from the registration site along with a valid ID and medical card.  

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