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a clinic is located have felt so intimidated by the presence outside they have asked for the abortion service to be withdrawn.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. Totally support this. My office is near Marie Stopes' original clinic and I find the constant rosary brandishing and leafleteering there really intimidating. I do understand that if you truly believe that murder is going on you may feel you NEED to do this. I don't agree but that doesn't diminish my understanding.
Still - women in this situation need protection, not intimidation.

Yes definitely. The tactics used are not free speech they are bullying and intimidation - it's the same as using the free speech argument for threatening people on line. If just one woman is too intimidated or distressed to get past these people to get access to professional advice, care and ultimately, if she chooses, treatment, then they have denied her her rights. Free speech does not trump everything and I'm fed up with it being used so dangerously.

I would fully support this.

yes from me, but a bit confused how buffer zone would work, having no personal experience of abortion?

Yes, absolute support, please go for it.

Yes, I support.

No issue with protests but they should not be outside the clinics where it all too often becomes a case of intimidation and harassment of women who may be extremely vulnerable.

I support this - and have also offered to be a clinic escort - thankfully there is no need in my local area at the time (and just in case it is pertinent I am a Christian).

My friend lives in Houston, Texas and volunteers as an escort and goodness me they need these laws there, it's a horrific example of the right to free speech gone horribly wrong

frankie80 have a look at the info from the BPAS and the extract of legislation from British Columbia above.

'Buffer zones' are areas specifically outside family planning, pregnancy care, abortion care etc clinics in which it is unlawful for individuals or groups to harass, attempt to intimidate, film or 'beset' people who wish to use the perfectly legal service provided in the clinic.

The legislation specifically covers action outside these clinics, not 'protests' outside eg parliament.

Interesting point about truly believing that atrocies are being committed violetelizabeth. I can't help thinking that if the rosary bead twiddlers were really concerned about the welfare of vulnerable babies and children they should be lobbying the Catholic Church to properly investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the countless lives that have been destroyed by abuse, neglect in institutions set up and run by the Catholic church. You know, the real lives of those unfortunate enough to be born to a woman out of wedlock or orphaned at an early age. And lobbying to provide those whose lives have been destroyed with validation and support.

That's the bit of the Catholic pro-life arguments that make me sick to the stomach - that some mass of cells inside a woman of whom they know nothing of her circumstances are more important than the reality of the agony that thousands have been put through by the moral hypocracy of the church.

If you truly believe that abortion is murder, you need to be campaigning to change the law, not intimating strangers in the street.

yes, deffo support this. Deciding to go through with an abortion (as I have) is a difficult enough decision without having to deal with people trying to intimidate and harass you as you do it. Thanks for taking it on.

also, interested to hear about "clinic escorts" to support women - can we find out more about that? I'd be happy to volunteer with a role like that.

Support this 100%

I contact the Abortion Support Network a while ago and have posted the reply below - I think NI needs escorts so far, but it might be worth contacting your local Marie Stopes/BPAS just in case.

Hope it's OK to post this, have anonymised it:

Dear Cod

Thanks for getting in touch with ASN. As far as we're aware the protesting at clinics in GB isn't serious enough for clinics to have an escort volunteer programme. The only place where they may exist is at the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast.

If you're interested in this sort of work you might want to get in touch with Bloomsbury Pro Choice Alliance. They organise the counter-protest to 40 days for Life every year. They can be found at www.facebook.com/bloomsburyprochoice.

With best wishes

xx

Yes pls support this.

If these 'protesters' had been hanging around outside, say, investment banks, shouting about the financial crisis and intimidating the bankers on their way into work, they'd have been moved on long ago.

Agree solidarity for all women who make these difficult decisions.:

100% Please support MNHQ

Yes, I agree that Mumsnet should definitely support this.

I support this.

It may be a matter of conscience for some, but that's no reason to condone their bullying behaviour.

Great idea, no-one else has the right to intrude on such a personal decision.

I fully support MNHQ in this. Women should be allowed to make their own decisions about what is right for their bodies without fear of intimidation by others. Seeking a termination is never undertaken lightly, to be harassed by protesters at such a time must be deeply distressing.

codandchips What's happening in the US is unbelievable - women being 'counselled' that having an abortion increases the risk of cancer for example.

And yet the men who get these women pregnant have NONE of these pressures. And who's in power I wonder? And these men are making it harder and harder for women to access these services. I suppose women will start going back to the back street clinics, unregulated and dangerous.

However, in whatever the country is, maybe the money the churches and pro life groups spend on 'advice' (utterly unimpartial for the most part I should imagine) should be spent on education programmes in schools because something clearly isn't getting through.

For the most part, there are either medical reasons or women are having abortions because they either don't have a partner or they are in a situation where the partner has said 'You deal with it'. Or the partner is violent. Or they have been raped etc. But the fact is that women are the ones who have to go to the clinics and make the decision to terminate the pregnancy. And that is not an easy decision ever.

I've had a termination - it was not nice even without being harangued outside the door. The decision was the right one at the time, I was in no position to bring up a baby and although I know it was the right decision, it was a painful emotional time.

I do not support this. Most of the people who are standing outside are quietly praying for the baby who has a death sentence and is not being allowed his/her most basic right, the right to LIVE

And I am really shocked that a social network called 'mumsnet' who are often discussing their children and sharing their experiences of motherhood would support abortionists as they grow richer from killing our future generations.

And in a lot of cases, women don't know all the medical facts.

If they were quietly praying, Janimoso, then there would be no issue. But they aren't. They are harassing and intimidating women who are accessing a service to which they are entitled, and which is entirely legal.

Oh, and part of that service is to furnish them with the facts that they need to make their decisions.

Well said Buffy.