{{short description|Form of anti-abortion activism}} {{Multiple issues| {{self-published|date=November 2014}} {{Refimprove|date=November 2014}} {{primary sources|date=December 2012}} {{Globalize|article|USA|2name=the United States|date=August 2016}} }} '''Sidewalk counseling''', also known as '''sidewalk interference''',<ref name="britishcolumbialaw">[http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96001_01 Access to Abortion Services Act]. Retrieved December 19, 2012.</ref> is a form of anti-abortion activism conducted outside abortion clinics. Activists seek to communicate with those entering the building, or with passersby in general, in an effort to persuade them not to have an abortion, or to consider their position on the morality of abortion.<ref name="hillvcolorado">[https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-1856.ZO.html#FN2 Hill v. Colorado (98-1856) 530 U.S. 703 (2000)]. Retrieved December 13, 2006.</ref> Common tactics include engaging in conversation, displaying signs, distributing literature, or giving directions to nearby crisis pregnancy centers.<ref name="hillvcolorado" />
Some anti-abortion organizations offer programs designed to train people in sidewalk counseling. The American Life League publishes "The Sidewalk Counselor's Guidebook" on its website.<ref>American Life League. (2006). [http://www.all.org/article.php?id=10068 The Sidewalk Counselor's Guidebook] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011045818/http://www.all.org/article.php?id=10068 |date=2007-10-11 }}. Retrieved December 13, 2006.</ref>
The '''"Chicago Method"''' is an approach to sidewalk counseling that involves giving those about to enter an abortion facility copies of lawsuits filed against the facility or its physicians. The name comes from the fact that it was first used by Pro-Life Action League in Chicago.<ref>[http://www.prolifeaction.org/news/2002v21n2/controversy.htm "Controversy in the Activist Movement", ''Pro-Life Action News'', August 2000]</ref> Brochures summarizing the lawsuits, scandals, or negative findings of inspection reports can also be used. The intent of the Chicago Method is to dissuade women from obtaining abortion services at the facility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=/articles/chicagomethod.html |url=https://www.priestsforlife.org/alert/index1.aspx?id=/articles/chicagomethod.html |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=www.priestsforlife.org}}</ref>
==Legal restrictions==
Several jurisdictions in the United States have "buffer zone" laws which limit how close to a clinic protesters can approach.<ref>National Abortion Federation. (2006). [http://www.prochoice.org/pubs_research/publications/downloads/about_abortion/face_act.pdf Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act]. Retrieved December 13, 2006.</ref> In the 1997 court case, ''Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York'', anti-abortion activist Paul Schenck challenged a U.S. district court injunction which restricted demonstrations to within 15-feet of four abortion clinics in New York state. The case came before the Supreme Court, where Justices ruled 8–1 to uphold the constitutionality of a "fixed buffer zone" (the area around the clinic itself), but not that of a "floating buffer zone" (the area around objects in transit such as cars or people).<ref>Hudson, David L. Jr. (2006). [http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/assembly/topic.aspx?topic=buffer_zones Abortion protests & buffer zones] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208130254/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/assembly/topic.aspx?topic=buffer_zones |date=2006-12-08 }}. ''First Amendment Center.'' Retrieved December 13, 2006.</ref>
In 1995, the ''Access to Abortion Services Act'' was passed in British Columbia, Canada. It defines "sidewalk interference" as any attempt at "advising or persuading, or attempting to advise or persuade, a person to refrain from making use of abortion services," or "informing or attempting to inform a person concerning issues related to abortion services." It prevents such activities from being carried out within up to 50 metres of an abortion-providing facility.<ref name="britishcolumbialaw" /> The ''Safe Access to Abortion Services Act, 2017'' in Ontario also prohibits "Advising a person to refrain from accessing abortion services" within a defined buffer zone of up to 150 metres.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Law Ensuring Safe Access to Abortion Clinics Now in Effect|url=https://news.ontario.ca/mag/en/2018/02/new-law-ensuring-safe-access-to-abortion-clinics-now-in-effect.html|website=Ontario Newsroom|publisher=Government of Ontario|access-date=February 2, 2018|language=en|date=February 1, 2018}}</ref>
Anti-abortion advocates in the U.S. say that sidewalk counseling is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.priestsforlife.org |url=https://www.priestsforlife.org/alert/index1.aspx?id=/articles/culsidewalkcouns.html |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=www.priestsforlife.org}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Politics}} *Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act *''Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc.''
==References== {{Reflist|25em}}
{{Abortion}}
Category:Anti-abortion movements