Clarence Thomas Condemns Supreme Court’s Refusal To Hear Pro-Life Free Speech Case
Justice Clarence Thomas criticized the Supreme Court’s decision to reject a challenge to abortion clinic buffer zone laws, calling the move an “abdication of our judicial duty.” The court declined to hear appeals from pro-life activists in Illinois and New Jersey who argued that local ordinances restricting speech outside abortion facilities violated their First Amendment rights.
The case centered around an ordinance in Carbondale, Illinois, that prohibited pro-life counseling, protesting, or leafletting within 100 feet of abortion clinics. Although the law was repealed in 2024, it had been enforced for over a year, restricting activists’ ability to speak directly with women seeking abortions.
Thomas, joined in dissent by Justice Samuel Alito, pointed to the Supreme Court’s previous ruling in Hill v. Colorado, a 2000 case that upheld buffer zones outside abortion clinics. He reiterated his longstanding opposition to Hill, arguing that it directly contradicts First Amendment protections.
“Hill has been seriously undermined, if not completely eroded,” Thomas wrote. He noted that since the court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, the legal justification for such restrictions on speech should no longer stand.
Despite the conservative majority on the court, the justices gave no explanation for rejecting the case. Thomas warned that by refusing to review these ordinances, the Supreme Court is allowing lower courts to enforce unconstitutional restrictions on pro-life speech.
Laws limiting protests outside abortion facilities remain in place across the country, with similar restrictions enforced in Europe, where free speech protections are far weaker than those in the U.S.
