Pro-Lifers told to keep their distance

[longwayoff]

A court has ruled that anti-abortionists should keep 100 meters away from women attending the Ealing clinic. AIBU to say quite right too?

100m seems fair, it means that both sets of rights are protected, however I do think only those with U.K./eu/work permits should be legally allowed to protest, apparently American activists fly in on tourist visas, they should stick to protesting in their own country, they would be angry in reverse!

Should be 1000m.

"To me, it's not entirely the woman's body and her choice because there is another body in there too which is not getting a say. "

Women as merely incubators. Lovely.

@Namechange345678

I would personally not criminalise it completely but I would be in the exceptional circumstances camp...where there is threat to life/incest etc.

So you think it's murder but it's ok to murder someone because their parents are closely related to each other?

In any case, what you do or don't believe (no matter how conceptually incoherent) is completely irrelevant to whether or not it is ok for rabid, hysterical bullies to harass and threaten women going through an already stressful and difficult experience.

Finally, why name change? You think that you're in a tiny minority of people who are rightfully opposed to the murder of innocents - why not have the courage of your convictions?

Help? They offer no help. Unless fear and guilt are considered help.
I went there years ago. It was horrific the abuse and images shoved in my face.
It was bad enough dealing with everything going on without these yobs.
It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made and those cunts made it a lot worse.
For months after I couldn’t get their words or images out of my head.
They gave no shits about the mental impact they were adding.

The clinic is there to help woman who are there because of abuse. Because of health. Because they know that for whatever reason they cannon cope. They should be free to do that without this crap.
It’s bad enough hearing views from people you know.

100m seems fair, it means that both sets of rights are protected

What, is there now a right enshrined in law that allows you to harass women attending a clinic to have an entirely legal medical procedure?

YANBU people who protest outside clinics are the lowest of the low. I had a friend who lived in Ealing and witnessed their abominable behaviour and bullying first hand.

I'd happily see a 1000m exclusion zone around any clinic. Forced birth protestors are scum. Twisted, vicious bullies.

I understand both sides' points of view and the right to peaceful protest BUT these people get far too close to women at a difficult time for those women. So this is good news - they can still protest but must keep their distance.

I'm a pro-choice Catholic and just do not understand how these protestors have completely missed the message of the Gospels - you know, not judging people lest ye be judged, kindness, compassion, love, that kind of thing.

I'd opt for 1000 metres vertically - up or down, either is fine with me.

There is a little old man with a rainbow flag and sometimes he comes and stands in front of them for a few hours just to piss them off. He is my hero

He sounds like an absolute gem - nominate him for the freedom of the city or similar!

I also know there are groups that go to these places with sincere intentions to offer practical help and support to any women who feel conflicted and may feel as though they have no choice

I'm rolling my eyes so far back in my head at "sincere intentions" that my eyeballs have packed up and left the building.
Their intention is to harass and intimidate - to scare vulnerable women into changing their minds.

They are a hate group.

I had an abortion at this clinic. I saw them before and after my abortion even though they were 100m away I didnt want an abortion but couldn't continue the pregnancy for many reasons. I don't live in that area so I didnt know where to avoid when walking to the clinic, so ended up walking right past them (they are on a corner and had to park near them).

@Hithere12
That clip was exceptionally distressing to watch. How tragic that it’s come to that to enable a woman to make a choice about her own body.

They should piss off completely. Why do they think they can dictate what a woman does with their body?

Those of you who feel the urge to tell us all how YOU would never/could never abort YOUR precious fetus but you so generously support the right of the rest of us to do so... please kindly fuck off. You’re pro-choice or you’re not. The ‘not for me but ok for you’ statement is weaselly self-righteous twaddle.

100m is not enough imo and I hope that the judgement protects people who work there too.

I’m glad, women deserve to enter and leave the clinic without people hassling them.

Cherryade8 I’m very sorry to hear that, sounds like they made an already difficult situation more stressful for you - you didn’t deserve that at all

About time. It should be much further.

I used to work very close to a Marie Stopes in the Midlands.
One afternoon I had parked up my car and was walking to work after lunch and there was a woman stood on the pavement crying with this group of arseholes all around showing her distressing pictures, calling her a murderer, " but what does your baby want" etc

The red mist descended and I marched over and asked them what the fuck did they think they were playing at. It was a little backwards and forwards arguing for a couple of minutes and the woman who was absolutely sobbing when I got there managed to get inside.
As I walked off one of these delightful protesters threw an open bottle of water all over me.

They're scum. Complete and utter scum.

I think we should all show up with some high powered water pistols to greet these protesters.

I had a termination when I was 19. Male GP would not prescribe the contraceptive pill as I was not married (this was the 70's) and my boyfriend basically forced himself on me (he felt he had waited long enough and refused to wear a condom). Boyfriend and his family desperate for me to terminate (they were rich I was poor). Boyfriend's family paid for the termination. I suffered an infection afterwards and the (male) hospital doctor I saw gave me a lecture about how I should have kept the baby and had it adopted - I honestly didn't know where to look. Why are women so policed, so judged, so manipulated, very often by men? Let women make their own choices about their own bodies!!

I had an abortion when I was younger, I was in college and stupidly got pregnant and a termination was the decision that was made.

I remember coming back to my classes a few days after the procedure and written on the whiteboard was “Queen is a murderer” in huge letters with a classroom full of faces all staring at me.

I have never, ever felt so sick and so judged. It was awful.

I imagine that most of the women going for terminations are very vulnerable and feeling a mixture of fear and worry and uncertainty without having to be faced with these awful, awful protesters.

It’s disgusting that those type of people think they can treat women in such an inhumane way.

YANBU at all!!

I'm glad this has been upheld, but the distance should be longer and it should be rolled out nationally. The place to protest against something you disagree with is outside the Houses of Parliament, or online via petitions. Not anywhere near vulnerable women going through a difficult time.

Omg Queen - that is absolutely awful.