LOS ANGELES : Police Given More Power to Protect Abortion Clinics

Mayor Richard Riordan on Tuesday signed an ordinance giving police new powers to protect from disruptive and intimidating protests medical clinics that offer abortions.

Riordan put his pen to the new law as Operation Rescue, the militant anti-abortion group, plans to hold protests outside Los Angeles-area abortion clinics from May 25-27. The group has refused to identify the facilities they are targeting.

In a prepared statement, the mayor said the ordinance offers a “balanced approach” that protects the rights of pregnant women to seek health services and the free speech rights of anti-abortion groups. Riordan’s action came only hours after the City Council gave its final approval to the ordinance, viewed as a landmark measure by advocates for abortion rights and by its author, Councilwoman Ruth Galanter. Council approval was granted without debate and without a public hearing, prompting a dozen anti-abortion activists to complain that their free speech rights were being violated. Galanter, however, noted that the council had previously held 3 1/2 hours of public hearings on the proposal.

The measure gives police the power to arrest people disrupting the operations of an abortion clinic or to require such people to retreat at least 50 feet from such a clinic to conduct their protests.