The Massachusetts House has approved a bill designed to tighten security around abortion clinics.
The bill would let police disperse groups substantially impeding access to abortion clinics. After a dispersal order is issued in writing, those individuals would have to stay at least 25 feet from the clinic's entrances for up to eight hours.
The 25-foot boundary would have to be marked and the regulations posted.
The House approved the bill Wednesday on a 116-35 vote. The Senate approved it last week.
The bill is a response to a Supreme Court ruling striking down a 2007 Massachusetts law that established protest-free 35-foot "buffer zones" around abortion clinic entrances.
Abortion opponents said they would head back to court if the bill is approved.
It requires a final vote in each chamber before heading to Gov. Deval Patrick.
