Ninth Circuit Rules Clinic Protection Measures Must Be Applied to Escorts as Well as Protestors

San Francisco Chronicle: Ruling may weaken escort roles at abortion clinics, by Bob Egelko:

A federal appeals court cast a cloud Thursday over measures in Oakland and other cities intended to protect women entering abortion clinics by requiring antiabortion "counselors" to keep their distance while volunteer escorts shield the women and walk them into the building.

In a suit by an antiabortion pastor who was arrested outside an Oakland clinic, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said a city can require a protester to obtain the patient's permission to approach her or talk to her - but must also apply that requirement to the escort. . . .