BURLINGTON, Vt. -
A setback for anti-abortion protesters. A setback of exactly 35 feet. The Burlington City Council voted in favor of a patient safety zone around Planned Parenthood that will keep protesters that far away.
Protesters pick Wednesday's to stand out front of Planned Parenthood because that's when the majority of the abortions are scheduled, so now protesters have just three more Wednesday's until the safety zone ordinance is in effect.
"These are living human beings who are innocent and totally defenseless," Anti-abortion protester Agnes Clift said.
Every single week, a group of protesters prays and attempts to hand out abortion related brochures, but in less than one month, they will only be seen and heard from the grass... 35 feet away. "It would make it difficult, if not impossible to hand those brochures to these women," Clift added.
But for the 30 Planned Parenthood patients who have made complaints in the last month alone, the ordinance is a victory.
"No one should feel intimidated when they're going to receive healthcare services," Planned Parenthood Director of Vermont Public Affairs Jill Krowinski said.
The Burlington Mayor, Miro Weinberger has signed the ordinance and once it goes into effect on August 15th, signs will go up.
"It's enough space where we can balance the patient's safety and privacy on one hand and also allow them to practice their free speech," Krowinski said.
Patients come here for abortions but Planned parenthood says they come for much more. "98 percent of the services we provide are primary and preventative care," Krowinski added.
The remaining 2 percent is still too high for anti-abortion protesters who insist they won't be stopped by the new barriers. It's just, "gonna make it very much more difficult to communicate with them," Clift said.
Breaking this ordinance could mean a fine of up to $500.
