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letters | Supreme Court reviews buffer-zone law

Not a matter of free speech, but freedom from speech

Abortion-rights demonstrators held signs while anti-abortion demonstrators prayed Wednesday in Washington outside the Supreme Court, where the justices heard arguments over Massachusetts’ buffer zone law.Evan Vucci/Associated Press

I don’t understand why the Massachusetts law requiring a 35-foot buffer zone at clinics providing abortion services is considered a free-speech issue (“Justices question state’s buffer zones for abortion clinics,” Page A1, Jan. 16). Although it is true that one must speak louder to overcome the buffer setback, no one’s right to speak his or her mind is being curtailed.

What anti-abortion demonstrators are really demanding is their right to be listened to. They figure, probably correctly, that by getting in women’s faces they can force them to pay attention. This is an absurd demand. I am a fervent believer in free speech, but surely there is a right to ignore the speech others inarguably have a right to voice.

The Supreme Court should recognize this basic dynamic: A woman arriving at a clinic can talk with anti-abortion demonstrators if she wishes, but she can also choose to turn her back. The Massachusetts buffer zone law doesn’t limit free speech; it protects the right not to have unwanted speech aggressively forced upon one at close range.

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Michael S. Hass
Boston