Sidewalk counseling

Sidewalk counseling, also known as sidewalk interference, is a form of anti-abortion activism conducted outside of 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 reconsider their position on the morality of abortion. They do so by trying to engage in conversation, displaying signs, distributing literature, and/or giving directions to a nearby crisis pregnancy center.

Some anti-abortion organizations offer programs designed to train people in such activism. The American Life League publishes "The Sidewalk Counselor's Guidebook" on its web site.

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. 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.

Several jurisdictions in the United States have "buffer zone" laws which limit how close to a clinic protesters can approach. 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).

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