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Original poster

Harassment of women using the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Mattock Lane, Ealing, London, W5

59 replies

betty62 · 12/07/2017 17:14

Hi, some of you might have seen the article in the Ealing Times about the anti-abortionists who hold a daily vigil outside of the clinic on Mattock Lane, and anyone who walks down there will have noticed them: they are the people with the laminated pictures of embryos, the condemnatory signs, inaccurate leaflets and pink and blue rosaries that they offer to the women going into the clinic. There is a counter-group to the anti-abortionists who want the council to take action to stop the vigil on the grounds that the participants are causing harassment, alarm and distress to the women using the clinic and they have launched an e-petition with Ealing Council asking them to take action to remove them. The petition is not about the rights and wrongs of abortion, and everyone agrees that the anti-abortionists have the right to their views, it is simply that they should not be expressing their views in that place. If you agree that the harassment of women who have made the choice to have an abortion is wrong, and live or work in Ealing, please sign the petition and let your friends know - here is the link. Thanks.

ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/ePetitions/tabid/96/ID/38/This-petition-calls-for-Ealing-Council-to-end-the-persistent-presence-of-the-anti-abortion-vigil-outside-the-Marie-Stopes-Reproductive-Centre-on-Mattock-Lane-Ealing.aspx

OP posts:
AssignedMentalAtBirth · 12/07/2017 20:42

Ok. I know they are awful, but you can't ban them. They have as much a right to express their opinion as anyone else. Otherwise, it just totalitarian madness

Original poster
betty62 · 12/07/2017 19:49

I am re-posting the link to the petition as it doesn't show on this page.
Thanks everyone for all the support.

ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/ePetitions/tabid/96/ID/38/This-petition-calls-for-Ealing-Council-to-end-the-persistent-presence-of-the-anti-abortion-vigil-outside-the-Marie-Stopes-Reproductive-Centre-on-Mattock-Lane-Ealing.aspx

OP posts:
Cantseethewoods · 12/07/2017 19:17

I used to live literally next door to the clinic and the protestors were there then- this is 17 years ago. I used to abuse them regularly, especially if I caught them harassing anyone.

DevonLulu · 12/07/2017 19:07

Would sign if I could. Would agree consider second post in AIBU for traffic

NoLoveofMine · 12/07/2017 19:00

Not at all betty62. I think all you and Sister Supporter are doing is brilliant and you have lots of supporters!

Those people sound horrendous and it enrages me this is allowed to happen. The council must act on this and it'll be appalling if they don't.

GoonBridge · 12/07/2017 18:59

Oh sorry betty I am being hard work here. I did read but obviously didn't comprehend. Thank you.

Original poster
betty62 · 12/07/2017 18:57

Hi Noloveofmine - sorry if I came across as being critical, that's certainly not what I meant to do.

They do have some younger "pavement counsellers" who are the ones who hand out the leaflets and give the advice. One of the male ones addresses every woman going into the clinic as 'mum', which seems particularly cruel.
GoonBridge - what the petition is asking is for the council to implement a public space protection order for the area which would mean that the vigilers would not be able to hang around in that area harassing the women. As the council owns the land, it should be easy enough for them to do if they want to.

OP posts:
morningrunner · 12/07/2017 18:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NoLoveofMine · 12/07/2017 18:42

Indeed Pooch. Not that it makes it any more or less abhorrent whatever the age but the only young person I've ever seen with them was a young chap once. At least half of them (probably more) from when I've seen them have been men and the one/s standing by the entrance always seem to be.

We don't engage in arguments with the vigilers as we think that wouldn't help the users of the clinic as it is bad enough that they have to pass by them without walking into an argument between two groups of people.

I should qualify that this is why my friends and I stopped doing so. We did it twice before we were aware of Sister Supporter (possibly before it was set up actually) because we were enraged by the vigil and wanted to do something, but ourselves felt it wasn't appropriate to have these discussions so close to the clinic - although we never "argued" so much as challenged and didn't get abusive at all.

GoonBridge · 12/07/2017 18:34

It's not a cheap shot, PoochSmooch. It is par for the course.

Can legal action be taken to ban them, betty?

PoochSmooch · 12/07/2017 18:34

Oh, crap, cross post with you Betty! I was talking about your first photos.

PoochSmooch · 12/07/2017 18:33

I should add: nor could I be. So maybe I get to make the cheap shot.

PoochSmooch · 12/07/2017 18:33

Not sure if this is a cheap shot, but not one person in those photos is likely to be in the position of needing an abortion, are they?

Original poster
betty62 · 12/07/2017 18:32

The group that I am part of, Sister Supporter, holds a quiet counter-protest every Saturday morning, and occasionally during the week if we can. We have placards and pink high-visibility pro-choice vests and try to make it clear that we are there to stop the harassment of the women. We don't engage in arguments with the vigilers as we think that wouldn't help the users of the clinic as it is bad enough that they have to pass by them without walking into an argument between two groups of people. We are gathering evidence of the harassment that we see that we are going to give to the council when this is discussed at a full council meeting. There is a Sister Supporter Facebook page if people wanted to look it up and you are welcome to join us on a Saturday morning.

Harassment of women using the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Mattock Lane, Ealing, London, W5
OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 12/07/2017 18:23

I meant the comment about abortion up to 364 weeks. Agree the anti abortion lot are threatening to people who are vulnerable

M0stlyBowlingHedgehog · 12/07/2017 18:23

Born of hyperbole and anger, stealth. Remember that if these people got their way, women would die as a result from unsafe backstreet abortions.

But you're right. An arrow with "I'd call you a cunt, but you lack the warmth and depth" would probably get the message across better.

NoLoveofMine · 12/07/2017 18:20

The only people being threatening are those holding the vigil. When I've attempted to engage with them I've been very polite though met with quite the opposite.

GoonBridge · 12/07/2017 18:19

Can't they get an injunction to move them away from the entrance?

StealthPolarBear · 12/07/2017 18:17

That doesn't really make sense and is vaguely threatening. Better to retain the moral high ground imo which the anti-anti-abortionists have in abundance

NoLoveofMine · 12/07/2017 18:16

Hedgehog Grin

There is a fantastic local group who are opposing them regularly which I imagine betty62 knows more about. They've had counter demonstrations and regularly go to support the clinic's users, garnering a lot of local support.

M0stlyBowlingHedgehog · 12/07/2017 18:12

If I lived locally I'd be tempted to go down there with a big placard and an arrow on it pointing to them with the slogan "some people make me support abortion up to 364 weeks!"

LassWiTheDelicateAir · 12/07/2017 18:10

Signed. I don't think it matters if you are not a resident.

anon97528996 · 12/07/2017 18:08

These fucks are vermin. I picked my friend up from this clinic for obvious reasons and they couldn't resist sticking the knife in on her way out. Needless to say the police were called, we are feisty.

EngagedWithALeaf · 12/07/2017 18:03

Signed and bumping - this is horrible!

NoLoveofMine · 12/07/2017 18:02

Glad to hear it InglouriousBasterd. They were extremely dismissive of my two friends and I, unsurprisingly, but we very much left them in no doubt as to our sentiments. One of the people in those photographs was present (always seems to be when I've seen them) but just refused to engage.