AIBU to think women should be able to access abortion clinics without intimidation and harassment?

[betty62]

I live in Ealing, London and there is a Marie Stopes clinic nearby. Every day there is a' vigil' of anti-abortionists outside with pictures of embryos, plastic foetuses, religious texts and inaccurate leaflets which tell the women things such as they are more likely to get breast cancer if they have an abortion and that they are more likely to abuse any other children that they have or will have in the future. Some of the vigilers stand at the entrance to the clinic trying to force their leaflets on the clinic users, or follow them down the road when they leave, calling them 'mum' . Regardless of whether someone agrees with abortion or not, I don't think the women who are trying to access a legal service should be subject to intimidation and harassment. If you agree, and live or work in Ealing, please sign this petition that is asking the council to implement a buffer zone directly outside of the clinic.

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

Protesting? Fine, go to parliament or the medical establishment or the Queen FFS. I'll Voltaire the shit out of that. Even though I think they're fuckwits.

But harassing women accessing medical care isn't protest, it's harassment.

Thanks for that Flava. Have signed.

Signed both, am very tempted to go over and tell them where to shove their right to protest.

Early as possible
Late as necessary
On demand

I've signed it.
I once ran a workshop in Ealing so I think that covers my connection with the area!

What would these forced birthers say when confronted with logical arguments and questions like Giles mentioned in her post?

It's harrasment and should be dealt with as such by the authorities. I have no time for forced-birthers and merrily tell them to fuck off whenever I see them.

Oh gawd, here's on import of my home (the US) that I cringe when I see. These people need to fuck off, simply.

These people simply don't care about the women or baby, they're nasty. I hope it doesn't escalate to the type of violence we see at ours. One of my friends volunteered to be a clinic escort to escort the women out of their cars and to the front door of the clinic because they'd have to pass people with photos of broken foetuses, yelling obscenities, saying they're going to follow them home and tell their neighbors. We've had abortion doctors killed. There's a doctor in Alabama (I believe!) who is the last doctor in the state that carries out abortions. He travels to states near him to carry it out, because those doctors have received such death threats, attempts, that they can no longer safely do it.

The sad thing is that these clinics do so much more than abortion, like Planned Parenthood mostly does examinations for people who cannot afford them normally (including prostate exams for men), birth control, and can be the first point of call for rape survivors. They're screaming names at rape survivors as they try to get help and report the crime. STI checks, breast cancer screening, they do it all. The provide checkups for babies and children of low income families. Its disgusting and I wish I had the time/money to sit outside a clinic and make sure every person got in that clinic safely.

Is it too inflammatory to suggest that a similarly targeted protest outside a church, mosque, or synagogue might be dealt with differently by the authorities ?

Absolutely agree with MrsTerryPratchett (and I am so stealing "I'll Voltaire the shit out of that"). But yes, protest outside parliament, write letters to your MP, write letters to the paper, stand at Speakers' corner with a megaphone, walk up and down your local high street with a sandwich board on. I may not agree with you, but it's a democracy.

But harrassing women on their way to a medical procedure - that makes you a complete arsewipe, and should be shut down under anti-harrassment laws.

And yes, amd, these protesters neither know nor care why the women are attending the clinic - they harrassed an American friend of mine as she was on her way for a D&C for "retained products of conception" (hideous phrase, but it's what medics use) after the loss of a planned and very much wanted pregnancy.

www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-please-create-a-legal-exclusionary-zone-outside-of-abortion-clinics

Does this link work now?

Bloody hell amd

The Drs who go to work and face that every day are nothing short of heros.

Disgusting behaviour

No it's not too inflammatory to suggest that Lurking

Consider the outrage against the protesters outside GOSH recently.

That link hasn't worked for me either LurkingHusband

Thanks to all who have signed, please share the link with anyone else eligible to sign. Majora I am part of a group that holds a counter-protest to the vigilers. We are there every Saturday morning if anyone local would like to join us. It's quite low key, we distinguish ourselves from them by wearing pink, high-vis 'pro-choice' vests and have some banners and placards but we don't engage with them and stand with our backs to the clinic to try to shield the users from the vigilers.

ThAnks, that one works!
I've already aigned that though.
I thought another had been started.
I don't know how this is allowed.
It's truly shocking.

That kind of action is just cruel to the women who have decided on abortions.

I'm not a supporter of abortion as a means of contraception but there are so many reasons why and how women conceive when they don't want to, that abortion really needs to be 'on demand'. No woman should have to continue with a pregnancy against her will. Women's bodies don't belong to the state or to the men who share responsibility for the conception. Women have to be truly free to choose, without being treated badly. And abortions should be available near where the women live. They shouldn't have to travel far from home to access abortion, unless they want to.

Signed

Signed national one. Had a friend who had to have a medical abortion for a pregnancy desperately wanted and conceived through IVF. Whole experience was so traumatic she had PTSD. If these bastards had been about then it would have broken her utterly. Fuck the whole freedom of speech argument- nothing gives anyone the right to harass another person with the intention of causing distress.

I may well join you some saturdays i would like to do more but have to work round small people.

Signed.

They're a bunch of cunts

I've no connection to Ealing so can't sign, and I've already signed the other petition. I agree, it isn't protesting it's harassment. If they wanted to protest they'd do it outside Parliament, instead they choose to impose their views on what are often vulnerable women.

I honestly don't see many people "using abortion as contraception" and even if they are, they likely have bigger problems than just the abortion thing. I don't understand how anybody could go through it regularly tbh and some people can't even really use all methods of contraception. I can't take any hormonal contraception for example, nor anything with lactose in it - and condoms often have lactose or milk in them! It's bloody stupid. I wanted to be sterilised but I'm "too young", even in my situation which is a complicated one.

Obviously this is a rare situation, but "abortions as contraception" isn't a common thing.

Im assuming the fella on the left is a vicar which makes it even more disgusting whatever happened to core christian values of kindness and consideration?

It's horrible and happens where I live too. It is definitely not a peaceful protest, they stop people as they're going in and they often don't realise what's happening until they launch into their lectures about how awful abortion is. I've seen many a person in tears and sometimes just walk away as they don't know what else they might face. There are other businesses in the same complex and I came out that front door one evening from somewhere else but they harassed me and followed me down the street, it was truly awful, I can't imagine what it's like for someone feeling vulnerable.

I see the police talking to them and moving them on from time to time but it doesn't last long.

It makes me so mad.

Gowgirl yes he is and his sign says: Give your baby a present: a birthday.