Should pro-life campaigners really be banned from protesting outside abortion clinics?

Apr 20, 2018 by

by Anne Atkins, Mailonline:

Pale pink blossom drifts in the air as relaxed young mothers push children and prams to the park along a spacious, tree-lined avenue.

You would barely notice the tarnished plaque on a Victorian mansion, bearing the name of Marie Stopes, unless you were looking for it.

In fact, it might slip your attention entirely were it not for an assorted group of people outside.

They include a grandmother wrapped up against the afternoon chill, a greying elderly man in neatly pressed trousers and a tall young woman in a knitted red beanie hat.

One has brought a folding chair, another a wheel-along shopper and laundry bag. A few are clutching pink and blue rosary beads and a handful of leaflets.

In front of them on the grass is a collection of wooden placards and banners. ‘Pregnant? Need Help?’ asks one, while another is more to the point: ‘Love Them Both’ it declares.

Only then, do you know where you are. This is the group (they don’t see themselves as protesters, and describe their presence as a vigil) in Ealing, West London, currently at the centre of a national campaign to introduce so-called ‘buffer zones’ outside abortion clinics.

Several local councils have resolved to bring in Public Space Protection Orders (or PSPOs) around abortion facilities, banning pro-Life groups from coming within 100 metres of the clinic and approaching those entering it.

Ealing Council was the first to vote for a ban, which comes into force next week, and it has been followed by others around the UK.

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