Buffer zone around Ealing abortion clinic?

[Thanksforthatamazingpost]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43669652

Just wondering what people think especially in light of discussions on here about free speech.

Also abortive is another area where we change our language according to our beliefs (so I will talk about “ending the pregnancy”, a Catholic may talk about “keeping the baby” and neither of those terms are really accurate I suppose...but HCP adapt them according to patient)

Sorry, abortion, not abortive.

No one is saying that the protesters are not allowed their beliefs or to state their views. It is the context in which they are choosing to to express their views which I think shifts this from being open debate to actual intimidation and harassment of vulnerable women. They deliberately target women, approaching them, trying to speak to them.

I suppose it's a bit like stalkers? We don't acknowledge that a stalker's right to free speech is more important than their ability to threaten and harass their victim. Quite rightly, we limit it, And hopefully that is the message that these protesters will get. Have your free speech but not in the faces of women trying to access legitimate and legal medical services. You will be excluded from this space. Good on Ealing Council - I hope that they vote it through.

Exactly what rowdy said

No problem someone being against abortion and saying so

A number if my friends/family hold the same view and are entitled to

Start hanging round clinics and intimidating women? No...they can fuck off with that

I don't think there is a comparison to what we discuss on this board.

Hounding a woman on her way in to a clinic for a very personal (and female specific) medical procedure is not the same.

Well done to all who campaigned for this. Great news.

Denying someone access to an abortion is the equivalent of denying freedom of speech.

The council voted in favour of an exclusion zone outside the clinic.
In the survey, the majority of those in favour lived locally, and the majority of those opposing the buffer lived outside the borough.

Hopefully now, the other clinics can follow suit.

twitter.com/bpas1968/status/983767979824435201

I’ve been part of the group that has protested about the protesters.

Ealing’s solution was really good and so Im not surprised it was so popular with locals. There is a dedicated space for people to protest that is in the locality of the clinic but far away for users to be able to access the clinic without being approached or having graphic photos thrust at them.

If the protesters think they are doing God’s work the God they worship differs to that of any of the world faiths I am familiar with!

You cant campaign within x of a polling station - that doesnt limit free speech. This doesnt either I think Rowdy's stalker comparison is very apt.

Creepy controlling bastards

I believe anti-abortion campaigners have the right to free speech - they do have it - but not the right to intimidate women entering the clinics.

I'm all for the exclusion zones.

Well if the protesters want to stop abortion, the best way to do that is to push for changes to the law - e.g. by lobbying Parliament, starting petitions or whatever. This doesn't affect their rights to do that, nor to hold general demonstrations or protests, at all.

Or if they genuinely just want to "offer support to women who do not want an abortion, but who see no other way out", as one said in the article - they can still set up support groups and information campaigns, or prepare leaflets about alternative options - which I'm sure they could even ask to have displayed in the clinics; as long as they were factual and reasonable (not offensive or scaremongering) I doubt a clinic would mind having them available.

The only thing this prevents them from doing, is targeting individual women who they believe may be going for abortions, to try to guilt-trip, pressure or scare them into changing their minds. Which to me, is where "free speech" turns into harassment. So actually I think this draws the line in pretty much the right place.

That's excellent news to see that Ealing agreed this. Long overdue. Hopefully other LAs will follow suit.

I think other LAs were looking at what Ealing did before implementing their own buffer zones.

The forced-birth protesters are free to wave their placards at a good distance from the clinic. They have perfect freedom of speech, they just don't have freedom of harassment. So now, they can't film, throw holy water at, try and press rosary beads into the hands of, or attempt to physically block women attending the clinic and that's the only difference.

If you're attempting to conflate this with gender critical discussion on this board, then you're onto a loser. I can't think of a single woman who would want to invade space being used by trans people. The violent protests are all the other way round.

protesting right outside the clinic is not the place to do it whatever your beliefs. puts people off your belief system if you try and force it on them when they are vulnerable.

oh and what sparctopus said ^

I think this is a great move, it's to stop harassment not limit free speech.

This is a sensible and compassionate local council and I hope others will follow suit.

Excellent move.
Harassing women seeking medical treatment is NOT freedom of speech

The council listened to the views of its residents - great to see such local support for women exercising their legal rights to an abortion:

"Between 85% and 90% were supportive of the proposed PSPO
…
of those who responded to oppose the PSPO, only 6.6% actually had an Ealing postcode.
In contrast, those who supported it were overwhelmingly local residents."

A lot of local residents were just sick and tired of having to run the gauntlet of these protests every day. Whatever your thoughts about abortion, it must have been awful for people taking their kids to school walking past those poorly Photoshopped banners they insist on carrying. How do you explain that kind of stuff to a small child?

It's excellent isn't it? At long last!

Interesting that 'of those who opposed the PSPO, only 6.6% actually had an Ealing address. Those who supported it were overwhelmingly local residents.'

Sorry Bigchoc you already posted that. It is very telling though.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ealing-council-abortion-clinic-ban-protests-marie-stopes-london-labour-party-a8298621.html

Good news - the buffer zone will go ahead. I hope my local council follows suit at the BPAS clinic near me which is also targetted.

Harassing women seeking medical treatment is NOT freedom of speech

I agree. Protestors should be directed towards the head office of Marie Stopes, where they can protest about abortion without harassing vulnerable women.

I only caught it slightly but on radio 2 (must have been the JV show) it seems they are planning to appeal.

Do they mean that they're thinking of a legal challenge? As it's not a court decision, there isn't an appeal process, is there?

Perhaps. As we got into the car it was the closing statements and I just caught something about challenging it, and then dh turn the music on.

Maybe if someone heard the show they might be able to clarify what actually was said, but I don't think it is the end as such.