WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a court order barring abortion protesters from displaying images of aborted fetuses in places where they might disturb children. As is their custom, the justices gave no reasons for declining to hear the case.
The case arose from a protest in 2005 near an outdoor Palm Sunday service at an Episcopal church in Denver. As the parishioners re-enacted Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in a ceremony, Kenneth T. Scott and other protesters unhappy with the church’s stance on abortion loudly addressed the procession from public property.
They showed large pictures of aborted fetuses. About 200 children were present, and some of them became upset. The church sued, and a Colorado court issued an order barring Mr. Scott from “displaying large posters or similar displays depicting gruesome images of mutilated fetuses or dead bodies in a manner reasonably likely to be viewed by children under 12.”
The Colorado Court of Appeals acknowledged last year that its order was meant to suppress Mr. Scott’s speech based on its content, something the government can do only if it has an exceptionally good reason. There was such a reason here, the court said: a “compelling government interest in protecting children from disturbing images.” The court noted in passing that the ban might seem to bar some depictions of the crucifixion.
In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that hateful antigay protests at military funerals deserved First Amendment protection. The court has not generally required a different First Amendment analysis where children are involved, though it has endorsed special restrictions for materials that concern sex or that are broadcast over the airwaves. In 2011, the court struck down a California law that banned the sale of violent video games to minors.
The case concerning the disturbing images is Scott v. St. John’s Church in the Wilderness, No. 12-1077.