End anti-abortion harassment outside the Bournemouth abortion clinic!

[sistersupporterbournemouth]

The abortion clinic in Bournemouth (Ophir Road) experiences some of the worst anti-abortion harassment in the country, with anti-abortion groups harassing and intimidating women and pregnant people accessing the clinic.

These women do not just constitute people with unwanted pregnancies, but a multitude of people who come from challenging situations, such as victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse, children, and those having to abort wanted pregnancies due to non-viability. Abortion is, for many, highly private and nerve-wrecking and no woman wants to deal with anybody gathering outside clinics to harass them or 'bear witness' to their treatment. You wouldn't tolerate this behaviour going to your GP, dentist or hospital appointment. Staff and local residents also have to endure this near-daily harassment.

At Sister Supporter Bournemouth, we have launched a petition to persuade the council to introduce a buffer zone around the clinic, banning anti-abortion groups from harassing women and pregnant people. We thought that the wonderful BCP-council-area-based people of Mumsnet would be interested in sharing our campaign and signing our petition. If you want to know more about Sister Supporter and our campaign, you can find more information here.

If you're interested in taking a more active role in sharing our campaign work, you can sign up to become a Sister Supporter Champion here.

I agree with your sentiment but what's with the tautology 'pregnant people'?

@NoraEphronsNeck it's to include those who are pregnant but do not identify as women.

Surely the group should be 'Sibling Supporter'?

I’ve just gone to sign, but it appears you have to register with BCP before you can sign. Would you get more traction if you used a bigger/less localised petition platform, like change.org to run the petition?

Does one have to live in the constituency, in that case, to sign the petition? 'BCP-council-area-based people of Mumsnet'

I’ve just gone to sign, but it appears you have to register with BCP before you can sign. Would you get more traction if you used a bigger/less localised petition platform, like change.org to run the petition? this

If you've got pregnant then you're a biological female (woman) so whilst I'm all for the rights of women to make birth choices I don't believe anyone identifying as a man should be getting involved in pregnancy choices...such as the overturning of R v W.

If you think non-females can get pregnant, why did you post this on the feminist board?

The OP put women and pregnant people. So all females who get pregnant are included- they haven't said just pregnant people!

I think gender ideology is completely BS! But let's know jump on people when they said women and ...

Are there going to be many non women pregnant people having abortions at those clinic? I'd have thought the numbers would be infinitesimal particularly if transmen are taking hormones to masculise their bodies which would prevent conception.

May get the odd 1 in 10000000 though so you are right to change the language. Not.

Went to sign but had to register- maybe doing it on change or something similar you would get more traction.

I agree and have been to that clinic many years ago. But sod off with your pregnant people...you have just added to a problem. No way would I do anything you say.

This! Being inclusive is one thing but including a group of people who have made the choice not to actually be in the group of people you are talking about, to publicly and legally remove themselves from said group is, surely, in and of itself, rude, dismissive, phobic?!?

Why can we not simply acknowledge a transman or non binary person's wish not to be a woman and leave them out if anything that is even vaguely woman based?

Or are there other people who find that politeness offensive? People who never were female?

And should we do this for all medical procedures that women require? Including all screening etc

Again, the tangled web they weave....

IMHO it's more for the transwomen to not feel offended by being leftout of 'womanhood' that is making the language change.
Not the transmen who in most cases are happy to get away from the biological part of being female.

Aye! Sorry, I was being wearily sarcastic.

I've had enough if this crap now.

Pregnant people??? FFS. Pregnant women OP. Women. Not people. Not men. WOMEN

How many men have become pregnant in this country? Zero.

How many men require abortion services? Zero.

It infuriates me.

Abortion is a women’s issue - which is precisely why there are hoards of old men outside the clinic trying to control access!

But if you're pregnant, you're a woman. Only women can get pregnant. Identifying as something else doesn't mean you're not a woman.

I'm not getting behind any petition that uses the term pregnant people.
As a woman I find it extremely offensive.

Who are the people who are harassing the women using the clinic? Are they mainly ejactulating people? Or are there also non pregnant people who aren't ejactulating people?

Edgeofacoin you can still be a feminist and disagree with your views you know. You don't get a monopoly on feminism.

If someone doesn't wish to identify as a woman then I'm a bit confused why they'd be asking 'sisters' or 'women' for help on a site called 'Mumsnet', in the 'feminist' section. Why not go and ask the men?

You're all so tedious.

In other words, women.

I can’t believe you’d rather all argue about terminology when the point of this thread is boosting support for people going through a tough time and facing bias.