Should MN support a BPAS call for non-protest 'buffer zones' outside abortion clinics? Tell MNHQ what you think

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello all

We've been contacted by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, who want to know whether Mumsnet can support a call they're going to make for buffer zones around abortion clinics - and as ever we'd like to run it past MNers to see what you think.

Here's what BPAS say:

'Over recent years there has been an escalation in anti-abortion activity outside clinics in the UK. Women attending pregnancy advice and abortion centres are now regularly exposed to groups of anti-abortion activists standing directly outside. Many of these protesters bear large banners of dismembered foetuses, distribute leaflets containing misleading information about abortion, and follow and question women as they enter or leave the centres. Often, these people carry cameras strapped to their chests or positioned on a tripod. Women report feeling intimidated and distressed by this activity as they try to access a lawful healthcare service in confidence. Pregnant staff at clinics have on occasion needed escorting from the building by the police. Recently, NHS staff on premises where a clinic is located have felt so intimidated by the presence outside they have asked for the abortion service to be withdrawn. The closure of a service as a result of anti-abortion activity would be unprecedented.'

'We believe enough is enough.'

'One in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime. We are a society which values freedom of speech, but also one where the vast majority of us support a woman’s access to abortion services. The right to protest needs to be balanced with the right of pregnant women to obtain advice and treatment in confidence and free from intimidation. For those who wish to campaign to restrict women’s reproductive choices, there are plenty of opportunities and locations in which to do so. The space immediately outside a clinic need not and should not not be one of them.'

'Women should feel confident that they can approach centres for advice and services without fear of intimidation, or anxious that their identity will be compromised by protesters filming outside. Establishing access zones free from anti-abortion activists around clinics would provide the reassurance and security women need. We urge all political parties to act to protect women as they make their own personal decision about their pregnancy. Women deserve nothing less.'

We know MNers tend to feel fairly strongly about abortion and that there are views on both sides of this debate - so do please let us know what you think.

Thanks

MNHQ

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I support this!

No matter how you feel about abortion no woman should feel intimidated by a protest when going into a clinic.

Yes, I support this!

PolterGoose I did. The point of an anti abortion protest is that it takes place at the abortion clinic, and the message gets heard by as many people as possible including the people who are giving advice on abortions or wanting one themselves. If they can't have their protest at that location it diminishes the point of it.

Hello again Aduaz.

100 per cent yes! .....disgraceful intimidating vulnerable pregnant women.

Yes.

I would absolutely support this Mumsnet

Yes!Absolutely essential I would say. Is there a petition to sign?

I 100% agree with the idea outlined

Very very glad you are supporting this.
The abortion clinic is no place for protest. Go to Parliament Square, go to Downing Street, party political conferences. Targeting individual women is abhorrent. The right to protest is NOT an absolute one. We have to balance the rights of individual women to be free of harassment at an incredibly vulnerable time.

Yes please support this.

harpsichordcarrier the target of anti abortion protest is the people having an abortion, the people offering the advice. Just as you have a right to be in favour of abortion, others have the right not to be and it's crazy to suggest that their views should be suppressed. Sorry but we don't live in a society where you can just silence people who don't agree with you. The only time that action should be taken is if the protest breaks the laws like they get violent or something and there's already laws in place to handle that. Nothing else is needed. People disagree with you and will make their views known, deal with it.

harpsichordcarrier the target of anti abortion protest is the people having an abortion, the people offering the advice.

that isn't protest. It is harassment.

Just as you have a right to be in favour of abortion, others have the right not to be and it's crazy to suggest that their views should be suppressed.

I am not in 'favour' of abortion. I am opposed to people harassing women and professionals supporting them. No one is 'suppressing' your views. You have the right to express them, but that right does not override the rights of women to proceed in peace. How arrogant and selfcentred of you to suggest that your 'right to protest' somehow overrides and is more important than the welfare of women, often in very vulnerable circumstances.

Sorry but we don't live in a society where you can just silence people who don't agree with you.

Yes, we do. We do 'silence' people who harass and threaten. We do 'silence' people who upset vulnerable. Your 'rights' to 'protest/harass' a woman's right to have an abortion does not override her right not to to harassed. There are limits to the 'right' to protest in a civilised society.

The only time that action should be taken is if the protest breaks the laws like they get violent or something and there's already laws in place to handle that.
Nothing else is needed.

Well what are talking about here is a change to the law - then it would be unlawful. I hope that will happen because 'protesting/harassing' women is very damaging and harmful - look at the US. Look at what happened in Belfast.

People disagree with you and will make their views known, deal with it.

I am happy for you to 'disagree' - I am not happy that women going about their business, making LAWFUL choices about their own bodies, can be harassed and damaged. Back off.

harpsichordcarrier while we do silence people who harass and threaten, a peaceful protest outside an abortion clinic does not fall into either category. No matter what you believe or what you do, someone will be against it and they'll let you know most vocally. And that's quite honestly a good thing because it means we live in a tolerant country where people can disagree with you and make their views heard without being taken away or locked up.

A peaceful anti-abortion protest outside a clinic doesn't stop you going about your business, you just ignore them and carry on. And if they do cross the line into obstructing you or threatening you, we already have laws to handle that. So this buffer zone idea isn't needed.

There is no such thing as a peaceful protest when it is designed to intimidate individual women attempting to access medical services.

Well said harpsichord. Exactly.

But a protest outside an abortion clinic doesn't necessarily mean it's designed to intimidate women accessing the services. Of course, any protest has the potential to become one that intimidates people but when it does there are ALREADY laws to handle that.

YY to everything Harpsichord said!

I've just scrolled back up the thread, and seen Rowan's post. Mumsnet are supporting the campaign, hooray.

Aduaz. If a 'protest' outside an abortion clinic isn't necessarily designed to intimidate women accessing the services, what on earth are handing our factually incorrect leaflets, holding up graphic placards, filming and photographing those entering the service and name calling 'designed' to do.

If one feels that a certain aspect of healthcare that is legally available to women in the UK shouldn't be, then there are far more effective ways to try to change laws that standing on the street shouting at people who have no influence over the laws.

The piece from the BPAS that angered me the most is that they and other organisations like Marie Stopes have directly contacted the churches who support these individuals to ask them to stop harassing women, to no avail.

The issue is harassment, not protest. Read the legislation from British Columbia - it specifies harassment outside clinics (and the homes of those who work in clinics). No constraints at all on meaningful protest.

Yes I would support this. Considering and having an abortion is beyond tough enough without other people being ghastly towards you.

Yes, I am in full support of buffer zones. I find the people that try to intimidate women going to these clinics quite repugnant.

christinarossetti it's because the people having the abortion are the target audience of the protest. They clearly feel that the people they need to get their message across to the most are the people having abortions, which makes sense if your point is an anti abortion one, as those are the people whose minds you want to change. It is not harassment at all, and frankly trying to compare peaceful protest with harassment makes a mockery of people who suffer genuine harassment.

Aduaz, you are doing an absolutely fantastic job of demonstrating precisely why this legislation is needed - well done.