The Constitutionality of Communication Prohibitions Around Abortion Clinics
The Western Australian Jurist, 2018
22 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2020
Date Written: 2018
Abstract
Laws prohibiting a range of conduct in the vicinity of a hospital, clinic or other premise that performs abortions have been enacted in Tasmania, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. One of the prohibitions involves preventing certain types of communication around premises that perform abortion. It is unclear whether this prohibition is consistent with the implied freedom of political communication. A central consideration in determining whether the prohibition is compatible with the implied freedom is the extent of the burden imposed on political communication. The prohibition may be unconstitutional as it places a substantial burden on political communication.
Keywords: abortion, freedom of speech, abortion clinics, freedom of political communication
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