Lou council member wants buffer zone for babybutchershop, protect the killers.
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https://www.wdrb.com/news/louisville-council-member-to-re-introduce-plan-for-buffer-zone-outside-abortion-clinic/article_64dd0ecc-78aa-11eb-b37a-cb282b697379.htmlLouisville council member to re-introduce plan for buffer zone outside abortion clinic
Chad Mills Feb 26, 2021 Updated 4 hrs ago Comments
Protest at EMW Women's Surgical Center
A protester (left) speaks to Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong (right).
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Metro Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-8, walked up to the EMW Women's Surgical Center, Louisville's only abortion clinic, last Saturday morning in pursuit of empathy.
"I'll be honest. I was nervous," she said. "It's a three-minute walk. It takes a long time to get from the garage to the clinic."
She made the walk to better understand what patients experience there as they often must weave through protesters to enter the clinic on West Market St.
Chambers Armstrong, who seemingly wasn't recognized as a council member by the crowd, said she was closely followed by some of the protesters, some of whom weren't wearing face masks.
"It's a very unsettling, very nerve-racking experience, and it makes you feel very unsafe," she said. "People who were unmasked would be very much right in my face."
It was an experience that made the newly-elected council member sure that she's ready to champion a change.
"I feel more strongly now than ever about the importance of a safety zone," she said.
Last year, Metro Council considered an ordinance to create a buffer "safety zone" outside the clinic to give patients distance from protesters.
During its consideration of the ordinance last August, council limited debate over the ordinance to 90 minutes. Some Council members and citizens argued the ordinance was about safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Democrats had hoped to amend the ordinance to allow better enforcement of it. The amendment failed, however, and time was too limited to take up other possible amendments. Others on council worried it would restrict protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.
After time was up and no agreement was reached, a bipartisan group of members joined together to vote against the measure, which ultimately failed by a vote of 13-12.
EMW Women's Surgical Center
The EMW Women's Surgical Center on West Market Street in Louisville, Ky., is the only licensed abortion clinic in Kentucky. (WDRB file photo)
Unswayed by the past failure, Chambers Armstrong said she's drafting a similar ordinance.
"A 12-foot section of sidewalk should not impair your ability to express your viewpoint on things," she said Friday.
However, Right to Life Louisville said it's opposed to the measure and said it has a right to protest on behalf of unborn children.
“Right to Life of Louisville disagrees with Councilwoman Armstrong and opposes any attempt to resurrect the “buffer zone” proposal that was met with bipartisan opposition last year," Executive Director Corey Koellner wrote in a statement. "Right to Life of Louisville will continue to advocate for the protection of the unborn child and the First Amendment right to peacefully voice support for the human rights of the unborn.”
After her walk last Saturday, Chambers Armstrong isn't convinced the demonstration outside the clinic is protected speech.
"They're not sort of just expressing their First Amendment thoughts," she said. "They're getting up in people's faces. They're harassing people. They're making them feel unsafe."
Cassie Chambers Armstrong.jpg
Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-8.
She hopes to have the ordinance filed in the coming weeks.
Meg Stern, with the Kentucky Health Justice Network, is part of the campaign that's been pushing for the creation of a safety zone since 2016. She feels the previous ordinance was modeled too much as an anti-coronavirus measure and hopes council will produce a better plan this year that focuses more on protecting the safety of the clinic's patients.
