To think protests outside abortion clinic are not "vigils" and should be banned.

[codeVeronica]

The Scottish government are trying to ban protests outside clinics that provide abortion services. This has been on the books for a while but has been brought to the forefront after what just happened in the USA. But the odious mysoginist (and homophobe, and downplayer of child sex abuse, and all right shithead) John Mason is trying to argue that these protests are actually vigils for unborn babies. Vigils that apparently involve harrasing women trying to access medical care.

Why this toad keeps getting elected is anyones guess.

They can protest somewhere else. They can write to their MPs, lobby parliament, whatever...
How many women attending these clinics are skipping in merrily, having made their decision with no hesitation, regrets, societal pressures (although it's fine if that are.) A lot of people attending would not have chosen a termination were circumstances different and these fuckers are just making a horrible experience way, way worse.
And again, they give not a single shit about the foetuses. They just hate women.

A vigil is where you stand quietly in prayer, with candles and stuff. That is not what these people do. Exclusion zones should be brought in because shoving gruesome photos and leaflets at people isn't protest, it's intimidation. There's no fence here for anyone to sit on.

A right to protest is not a right to intimidate/harass women at a vulnerable time in their life.

I agree. I can't believe that 4% of posters think it's OK to protest outside clinics.

They shouldn't be allowed to hold vigils outside them either, their presence - vocal or silent - is intimidating. All clinics, hospitals, and other health are settings should have an exclusion zone around them.

When I took DS for his covid vaccine (disabled and clinically vulnerable) there were dickheads outside the vaccine clinic, directly on the oath leading to it. They were holding signs about how the vaccines kill and how they're poisoning innocent children and covid isn't real and all the usual tinhat conspiracy shit. And as I'm taking my child into his appointment they're talking to him, telling him not to let the staff give him the jab, "they're lying to you", that I'm endangering him. DS doesn't give a shit and told them he was there to get his 5G upgrade but there were children inside rhe clinic who were visibly upset by it and one who started crying and fighting when it came time to get the jab.

The only people who need to be anywhere near a healthcare setting are staff, patients, and authorised visitors. Everyone else should fuck off elsewhere.

Is this the same MSP who refused to apologise for comparing abusing kids to tax evasion?

scottish government consultation still ongoing

christianconcern.com/action/say-no-to-censorship-zones-around-scottish-abortion-clinics/

this hate group is urging its followers to answer even if outside scotland

If you want to protest against abortion surely it makes more sense to conduct a protest at a place where the laws around abortion are made.

Exactly. I am 100% behind preserving the right to peacefully protest, but these are not legitimate or peaceful protests. These people are there to intimidate and cause distress to women in the hope it will deter them from exercising their right to access medical care. They have no right to do so. They can "protest" or hold a "vigil" elsewhere if they must.

In Belfast, many moons ago, coming out of the same building the FPA was in (who didn’t even offer abortions, only info on how to obtain one in England, as they were illegal / still not accessible now) and was ambushed by prolifers including the infamous Bernadette Smyth. Absolutely mortifying and nearly resulted in me be knocked over by traffic as she followed & harassed me as I crossed 6 lanes of traffic.

Reported her to the PSNI and they went straight out (with me in the car to identify her), but they had skit after that incident.

totally unreasonable in this country - I would have an approach where you got a caution for disturbing the peace as a matter of routine.

It's never right to protest outside an abortion clinic. It'a literally no one else's business if a woman chooses to get an abortion. If they wish to do it, do it outside parliament. Fuck off harassing and intimidating vulnerable women.

There is no way these are lawful peaceful protest, so they shouldn't happen under current laws. Don't need to change the law, we need to enforce the ones we have.
Threatening and intimidating actions are arestable offences, so start arresting them.

archive.ph/inMsx

Some american fundie group have landed in Glasgow to to harrass doctors. Hopefully this law will stop the scum.

I live very close to the first legally established exclusion zone outside a clinic and I support all clinics having legally enforced exclusion zones. The protesters here are a scourge. They have routinely harassed people living in the area as well as those using the clinic. Now they are confined to a small area down the road from the clinic, which enables patients to approach it from the other side and never see the protesters. When I walk along that road I have to do it on the other side from them, because I've been harassed by them too and they give me the RAGE.

Yanbu. No one's stopping anti abortion campaigning. It just needs to not be in an inappropriate place. I wouldn't expect people protesting school funding cuts to stand outside schools disrupting lessons. I wouldn't expect people protesting nhs cuts to stand outside a hospice or hospital either, upsetting patients.

Some scummy American group are already planning on trying to stop this. It's not good enough for them to chip away at rights in their own country.