MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis has softened an ordinance that prohibited the obstruction of entrances and driveways to abortion clinics after anti-abortion activists sued to challenge it on free-speech grounds.
The City Council this month quietly amended the ordinance to exclude constitutionally protected activities and agreed to pay the plaintiffs' legal fees. Brian Gibson, chief executive officer of Pro-Life Action Ministries, said in an interview Friday that it amounted to an admission by the city that the law violated the freedom of speech.
“They were accepting fault for having violated our constitutional rights,” Gibson said.
Pro-Life Action Ministries sends “sidewalk counselors” to Planned Parenthood clinics in Minneapolis, St. Paul and elsewhere to try to dissuade people from having abortions. The ordinance, which the city enacted in 2022, was designed to protect patients of the Planned Parenthood clinic in the Uptown neighborhood from group members who would approach patients as they drove into the parking lot there. Gibson said they never blocked any entrances, but would try to get people to roll down their windows to take literature or talk.
Minneapolis was the only city the state with such a rule. Gibson said their most immediate concern when they filed the lawsuit in 2023 was to overturn the Minneapolis ordinance, but he acknowledged that they also wanted to prevent St. Paul, where there's a much busier Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, from adopting something similar, which it never did.
The final judgement in favor of Pro-Life Action Ministries and three of its sidewalk counselors was filed in federal court Thursday.
Nationwide, several people have been convicted in the last year alone under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, known as the FACE Act, or similar laws for physically blockading abortion clinic entrances. That includes activists in Detroit, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Mount Juliet, Tennessee, with some getting prison sentences as high as three to five years.
Toward the end of a long meeting that dealt mostly with other topics on Dec. 5, the Minneapolis City Council went into closed session to approve the agreement on legal fees, then returned in a very brief open session to unanimously exempt “any person or group engaging in conduct protected by the United States Constitution, the Minnesota Constitution or federal or Minnesota law.”
The law still prohibits physically blocking clinic entrances, and the city council's vice president, Aisha Chughtai, said it's consistent with the FACE Act.
She said the council wants to make sure people have access to heath care, including abortions, and voiced support for Planned Parenthood.
“We also want to be sure to provide very specific carveouts to ensure First Amendment rights are protected and ensure our local authority remains intact,” she told her colleagues at the meeting.
Chughtai did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday. In response to a request for comment from the city attorney's office, a city spokesperson supplied a statement that was nearly identical to what Chughtai said at the council meeting.
“They amended their ordinance and repaired the damage that was done there. It was total victory for the free-speech folks,” said Peter Breen, head of litigation for the conservative Thomas More Society, which represented the plaintiffs.
Planned Parenthood North Central States, which was not a party to the lawsuit, said in a statement that under the revision, “Patients continue to be protected from people blocking or obstructing the driveway or sidewalk.”
Breen said they’ll file a bill for the attorney’s fees soon, but that their last estimate was in the $600,000 range.
The Thomas More Society and allied groups are litigating similar restrictions nationwide, Breen said. They’ve asked a federal appeals court to block a similar ordinance in Clearwater, Florida. They’re also fighting similar measures in Westchester County of New York, San Diego, and Detroit.
And they’ve asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to an ordinance in Carbondale, Illinois. While the Supreme Court in 2000 affirmed a Colorado buffer zone requirement in a case called Hill v. Colorado, Breen noted that the high court more recently in its Dobbs decision, which struck down the constitutional right to abortion, criticized the Hill decision, saying its previous abortion rulings “have distorted First Amendment doctrines.”
Gibson said his members sometimes succeed in persuading people who come to the Minnesota clinics to cancel their abortions. He said they gather outside the St. Paul clinic nearly every day, and even go there Sundays when it's closed just to pray. And he said they had a victory on their first day back outside the Minneapolis clinic when they approached a woman who had parked on the street.
“We had a baby saved,” he said. “A woman decided not to go through with her abortion appointment.”
FILE - A protester demonstrates in front of a Planned Parenthood, July 12, 2022, in Saint Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)
Tennessee (3-11) at Indianapolis (6-8)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Colts by 3 1/2
Against the spread: Titans 2-12, Colts 8-6
Series record: Colts lead 38-22
Last meeting: Colts beat Titans 20-17 on Oct. 13 at Nashville, Tennessee.
Last week: Titans lost to Bengals 37-27; Colts lost to Broncos 31-13.
Titans offense: overall (27), rush (19), pass (26), scoring (27).
Titans defense: overall (2), rush (12), pass (3), scoring (T-29).
Colts offense: overall (21), rush (13), pass (27), scoring (23).
Colts defense: overall (28), rush (30), pass (23), scoring (21).
QB Mason Rudolph. The Titans opted to keep Will Levis on the bench in favor of Rudolph, who will make his fourth start of the season. His numbers have been underwhelming — 63% completion rate, 1,015 yards, six TDs and five interceptions. Rudolph may be a better short-term option than Levis, but Rudolph could use this game as an audition for his 2025 landing spot.
RB Jonathan Taylor. Taylor mostly played well last week, getting his first 100-yard game in five games and averaging 4.86 yards per carry. But it will be remembered for his embarrassing gaffe — dropping the ball before the goal line, taking a touchdown off the board and giving the ball back to Denver. It may wind up costing Indy a playoff spot. Now people want to see how Taylor responds this week against one of the league's top defenses.
Titans RB Tony Pollard vs. Colts run defense. Pollard has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak season for Tennessee. He is dealing with an injured ankle but needs 18 yards rushing for his third straight 1,000-yard season. The quarterback change suggests Pollard needs to play a more pivotal role against an Indy defense that has struggled against the run most of this season.
Titans: K Nick Folk (abdominal injury) will be a game-time decision with Brayden Narveson elevated from the practice squad as insurance. LB Kenneth Murray (hamstring) also is a game-time decision. RB Tony Pollard is questionable with an injured ankle that kept him from practicing all week. Starting LB Luke Gifford is still in the concussion protocol. CB Roger McCreary is set to return after missing two straight games with an injured shoulder.
Colts: WR Alec Pierce will miss the game with a concussion, along with LB E.J. Speed (knee). Indy is more hopeful that Pro Bowl C Ryan Kelly and CB JuJu Brents can return from knee injury now they're off injured reserve, with both questionable.
The Colts have won three straight against Tennessee after snapping a five-game losing streak in the series last season. ... A win Sunday would give Indy the 12th season sweep since these teams became AFC South rivals in 2002. The Titans have only two season sweeps. ... The teams have met once in the playoffs. Tennessee won 19-16 at Indianapolis in January 2000. It was the first playoff game ever played in Indy and a big road win as Tennessee reached the lone Super Bowl in its franchise history.
Tennessee has lost three straight and five of its past six under first-year coach Brian Callahan. ... One more loss would match the franchise's third-highest single-season loss total since the Titans left Houston in the 1990s. ... This starts a three-game swing through the AFC South to finish the season for Tennessee. ... The Titans turned it over six times last week in a loss that featured 10 total turnovers and 26 combined penalties. ... The Titans' defense has had at least one interception in four straight games and had a season-high four takeaways last week. ... Folk has made an NFL-record 85 consecutive field goals on attempts from less than 40 yards. ... He ranks 14th in NFL history with 403 field goals. ... TE Chig Okonkwo had a team-high and career-best eight catches as he finished with 59 yards last week. ... Indianapolis has lost four of its past six and is on the cusp of falling out of the AFC playoff mix. ... The Colts have scored 44 points on their opening possessions, fifth in the NFL, and are tied for second in the league with 34 points and four TDs in the last two minutes of a game. ... An injured right hip kept Colts QB Anthony Richardson out of the October matchup with Tennessee and he was knocked out of last year's home game against the Titans with an injured throwing shoulder that ended his rookie season. ... Taylor has seven games with 100 or more yards from scrimmage this season, tied for No. 7 in the league. ... WR Michael Pittman Jr. has been targeted at least seven times and has caught at least five passes in four consecutive games. ... Indy's defense has allowed the sixth-fewest plays of 20 or more yards (45) and has a league-best 15 forced fumbles this season. ... LB Zaire Franklin (144), LB E.J. Speed (130) and S Nick Cross (129) are all ranked among the NFL's top five in tackles.
Taylor probably has the most upside this week. The safer play may be the Titans' defense against a team that committed five turnovers last week and has scored 20 or fewer points in eight of its past nine games.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) runs for a first down during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan reacts during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph (11) throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) looks on from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Indianapolis Colts' DeForest Buckner sacks Denver Broncos' Bo Nix in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Broncos' Kris Abrams-Draine breaks iup a pass intended for Indianapolis Colts' Alec Pierce during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor runs for what would have been a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. Taylor dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson gets away from Denver Broncos' John Franklin-Myers during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
