# Abortion clinic "Buffer zones" in Massachusetts not legal, says unanimous SCOTUS **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698 "2014-06-26T14:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/261 "2014-06-27T03:26:36Z")
You don’t understand, **Lobohan**. The common good is whatever some guy tells a woman is good for her. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/262 "2014-06-27T03:28:16Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I’m not moving the goal posts. You’re making bull shit comparisons between signing a meaningless piece of paper to abortion rights. To refresh your recollection, here was a prior goalpost: > [@Shakes](#): > > Yes, and both men and women are subjugated to that law. So they’re equal. Give me an example wherein a man is subjugated to a law but a woman is not. I gave you two such examples…then the goal suddenly became something other than simply finding a law which “subjugated” a man but not a woman. > [@](#): > > Are you trying to tell me that if a woman forcibly inserted a man’s penis into her vagina she wouldn’t be charged with a crime? Not the crime of rape, if it happened in Idaho. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/263 "2014-06-27T03:33:33Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > Which might suggest why it’s a bad idea to give everyone a voice and a vote. And who do _you_ think shouldn’t have a voice and/or a vote on the matter? > [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > You’re aware, right, that women are pro-life in about equal numbers as men? How about a cite for that? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/264 "2014-06-27T03:33:56Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Not the crime of rape, if it happened in Idaho. Pardon, is this where we nominate stuff for the **Nitpicker Hall of Fame**? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/265 "2014-06-27T03:37:44Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You don’t understand, **Lobohan**. The common good is whatever some guy tells a woman is good for her. Quick, some guy, tell me it would be good for me to have a cookie. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/266 "2014-06-27T03:42:26Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Quick, some guy, tell me it would be good for me to have a cookie. It would be good for you to have a cookie - in fact, it would be better if you had TWO cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/267 "2014-06-27T03:42:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You don’t understand, **Lobohan**. The common good is whatever some guy tells a woman is good for her. Sounds legit. In the event of two guys telling conflicting versions of the common good, it will be decided by whosoever’s penis displaces more mercury. That man having earned the right to be addressed by the loser as _Lord Phatknob_. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/268 "2014-06-27T03:44:33Z")
> [@simster](#): > > It would be good for you to have a cookie - in fact, it would be better if you had TWO cookies. I’m just going to take on faith that you’re a guy and therefore you know best. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/269 "2014-06-27T03:45:27Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > P\*ssy Riot’s antics weren’t legal in Russia (for the record, I think they got punished way too harshly), and they’re in the process of tightening up abortion laws as well. Thank God. > > The whole point at issue here is whether abortion _should_ be legal or not. I knew you wouldn’t answer if you were male. I knew you’d also still not understand that we’re not in Russia. Heh. I’m two for two tonight. > [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > Which might suggest why it’s a bad idea to give everyone a voice and a vote. And this explains more than I could hope for. Wow. > [@Marley23](#): > > You don’t understand, **Lobohan**. The common good is whatever some guy tells a woman is good for her. It’s just about time all us idiot women realize that, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/270 "2014-06-27T03:48:40Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > To refresh your recollection, here was a prior goalpost: > > I gave you two such examples…then the goal suddenly became something other than simply finding a law which “subjugated” a man but not a woman. Okay **Bricker** , you got me on semantics. I guess I should have known you were going to use bull shit comparisons. > [@](#): > > Not the crime of rape, if it happened in Idaho. LOL. Well then, I guess that settles that. If _Idaho_ says it ain’t rape then that must be so for the whole country. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/271 "2014-06-27T03:49:24Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > It’s just about time all us idiot women realize that, isn’t it? I’m just saying it’s your own fault if you don’t listen to a man who knows best. After all who is in the best position to understand your life and the moral implications of your actions- you, or any rando with a Y chromosome? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/272 "2014-06-27T03:49:32Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > Which might suggest why it’s a bad idea to give everyone a voice and a vote. Thanks for revealing your true colors, by the way. It’s funny that you think you could have the standing to make someone else feel shame when you have none of your own. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/273 "2014-06-27T03:56:05Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > This is wrong so much, I hardly know where to begin rebutting it. > > Did Congress pass a law saying people can’t protest in front of the Supreme Court? Yes, 40 USC 13k, but it was struck down in _US v. Grace_, 461 U.S. 171 (1983). > > Can you protest within 8 feet of the Supreme Court? > > No, but the reason is “Regulation Seven,” issued by the Marshal of the Supreme Court. This is a regulation issued pursuant to both a grant of congressional authority permitting the Marshal of the Supreme Court to prescribe regulations, approved by the Chief Justice, that are necessary for the adequate protection of the Supreme Court Building and the maintenance of order and decorum, and the Court’s inherent judicial authority to regulate activities necessary to the smooth functioning of their judicial function. Decorum, schmeckerum. The outside of the USSC is no more sacred under the first amendment than a doctor’s office, and probably less so. Doctors are being assassinated all the time, USSC justices not so much. There is no constitutional exception for the “Marshall”. If a doctor is not entitled to keep nuts more than 8 to 35 feet away, neither is the Court, Congress or the President. Once more, a different standard for the people than our rulers. Of the rulers, by the rulers and for the rulers. I rebut thee thusly. Would you like some ketchup with your keester? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/274 "2014-06-27T03:58:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m just saying it’s your own fault if you don’t listen to a man who knows best. After all who is in the best position to understand your life and the moral implications of your actions- you, or any rando with a Y chromosome? Exactly. At this point, I don’t know how I can string a sentence together coherently, let alone make a moral decision. I need to just toss my pretty head in incomprehension, kick off my shoes and go bake some cookies. What was I thinking? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/275 "2014-06-27T04:03:25Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > I need to just toss my pretty head in incomprehension, kick off my shoes and go bake some cookies. I get to have two. Internet guy says so. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/276 "2014-06-27T04:06:25Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > Which might suggest why it’s a bad idea to give everyone a voice and a vote. Wow. Just wow. Over 750,000 American women have abortions every year. Are you going to propose that all of them be denied the vote? Or just some? Why don’t you bring back public stocks while we’re at it? Then you could directly hiss and boos and maybe even throw a piece of fruit at the non-feeling-enough guilt women while you’re at it? > [@](#): > > I entirely disagree with you about what fairness and justice are, and continue to be amused that you think this is about ‘men’ and ‘women’. You’re aware, right, that women are pro-life in about equal numbers as men? Because abortion has nothing to do with ‘women.’ Nothing at all. Sure. Let’s not dare take a single second to even think about the actual consequences of pregnancy when discussing abortion. Again, you are aware that most people do not support your extremist viewpoint on this subject? > [@](#): > > The real division here is between people who think about themselves first and foremost, and people who think about their duties to the common good. The common good is not served by illegal abortion. The common good is not served by women dead from anti-abortion laws. The common good is not served by harsh anti-abortion laws crafted on the basis of ludicrous sanctimony. You won’t stop most women from getting abortions. You’ll just hurt some very desperate people. I’m very sorry that you imagine otherwise. I mean this in all sincerity. Are you a man? Have you ever actually been pregnant? Have you ever spent two weeks so sick you couldn’t keep food down and only remained alive because of skilled nursing care? Have you ever been so tired from pregnancy that you napped sixteen hours a day? Have you ever had hemorrhoids so bad almost no position was comfortable? Have you ever endured a headache that made you cry but you couldn’t take pain killers because they might hurt a fetus? Have you had ankles that looked like golf balls? Heartburn so bad your esophagus wanted to run away? Fingers like sausages? Sciatica that made you shiver in pain? Because I have. And so have quite a few of my friends. You shouldn’t be lecturing us on the evils of abortion. You should be on your hands and knees in gratitude we thought about continuing the pregnancy at all. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/277 "2014-06-27T04:15:23Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I get to have two. Internet guy says so. Then it’s definitely okay, young lady. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/278 "2014-06-27T04:31:56Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > you may well think this is a strange thing to say, but when you argue for the right of a fertilized egg to become a human, you are theoretically denying 8 or 9 other eggs the chance to become fertilized and to become, eventually, human. > > A woman should be allowed to decide when and if she reproduces, which eggs allowed to go to term and which, not. A fertilized egg is an unique human individual: an unfertilized egg isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/279 "2014-06-27T04:40:13Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > A fertilized egg is an unique human individual: an unfertilized egg isn’t. And who is it that you think shouldn’t have a vote on matters such as this? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698/280 "2014-06-27T04:42:53Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Then it’s definitely okay, young lady. Enjoy. get back with the baking - there’s cookies to be made here - be sure to use un-fertilized eggs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-in-massachusetts-not-legal-says-unanimous-scotus/691698.md?page=15)