Why are women still being intimidated outside abortion clinics?
It’s now been a year since a buffer zone was enforced outside a London clinic, yet religious anti-abortion protests are still raging on at locations around the UK.
Last year, ealing council implemented a no-protest ‘buffer zone’ to prevent anti-abortion protestors coming within 100 metres of a clinic in the London borough. It was hailed as a hopeful step forward for women facing a difficult moment in their lives even without a backdrop of abuse from onlookers.
And yet a year on, Ealing’s decision is being fought in the Court of Appeal, and only Richmond Council has followed suit in introducing a buffer. Meanwhile, across the country, women seeking abortion consultations, treatment, counselling and contraception are increasingly being forced to make their way through prayer vigils, marches and leafleting campaigners.
Hattie, 28, recently had a medical abortion which involved three appointments. ‘Every time there were 20 or 30 people outside the clinic,’ she tells Grazia. ‘I felt stressed and really anxious, and it left me feeling emotionally turned upside-down.’
When Grazia visits the Marie Stopes clinic in Fallowfield, Greater Manchester, protestors line the street. One of them is kneeling with a rosary, another laying out signs bearing photos of mothers kissing tiny babies. Two more are praying. They’re from the Good Counsel Network, which is affiliated to the US anti-abortion movement 40 Days For Life. On the other side of the road, armed with signs that read ‘Feeling intimidated? Ask us to walk you out,’ two young women in pink tabards stand silently at the steps of the clinic. They’re from the pro-choice campaign group Sister Supporter.
The clinic would be inconspicuous were it not for this stand-off – a scene you might expect to see in the US. However, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which provides abortion services, has received over 700 reports from women and clinic staff of protests taking place at 13 locations across the country in the last year. Marie Stopes reports that more than 2,800 women came in for appointments at its Manchester clinic from January to March this year – of which, the vast majority faced protestors.
Last year, the Home Secretary Sajid Javid commissioned a review into the activities of the protestors, which found that one in 10 clinics or hospitals where abortions take place had been affected. It concluded that the protestors were not ‘aggressive’ enough to warrant Government intervention.
But amid reports that tensions are escalating at the Fallowfield clinic, Grazia has visited several times to understand what impact these protests are having. We’ve seen images of foetuses and anti-abortion propaganda and heard that some women are delaying time-sensitive appointments because they are so put off by the scene outside the clinic.
‘[The protestors] chastise, antagonise and upset clients,’ says Shelley, the clinic’s receptionist. ‘We’ve had women not come to appointments and, depending on how far they are along or what issues they’re facing, that can be a big problem – it could tip you over the limit from a medical to a surgical abortion, and if you need a termination because of a medical issue, a delay can also complicate things.’ The Good Counsel Network says that it does not harass women, but offers practical help and support.
Nikki Lorimer, the clinical services manager for Marie Stopes UK, has serious concerns about how fraught the situation has become. ‘While we accept anti-abortion protestors have a right to demonstrate, we have a right to come to work without intimidation. We’ve had a staff member hit, we’ve had a staff member blocked in the car park, we’ve had daily taunts of murder.’ And while staff members appreciate the counterprotest work that Sister Supporter do, Nikki adds that ‘it’s still a crowd outside a busy working clinic that has to be managed’, particularly during 40 Days For Life – a protest timed to coincide with Lent – when protestors were outside the clinic every day.
‘This is a national issue in need of a national solution,’ says Katherine O’brien, associate director of communications and campaigns at BPAS. ‘It can take months, even years, and considerable resources for councils to be able to put a buffer zone in place. Even then it is not permanent, and every three years the council must go through a process to extend the order.’ Regarding the current challenge posed by anti-abortion groups to the Ealing buffer zone in the Court of Appeal, she adds, ‘We believe that this will ultimately not be successful, but we fear that this may deter some councils from implementing buffer zones while they wait to see the outcome.’
In response, the Home Office told Grazia: ‘The decision to have an abortion is an incredibly personal one, and it is unacceptable for a woman to be subjected to aggressive protests. Thankfully, most abortion clinics and hospitals do not experience antiabortion demonstrations. Following our review into national buffer zones, the Home Secretary concluded that police and councils already have the necessary powers to manage demonstrations, ensuring that people’s right to peaceful protest does not impact others’ rights to go about their lives without fear of intimidation or harassment. Those who break the law should be brought to justice.’
But while the Home Secretary may not judge the protestors ‘aggressive’ enough to warrant Government intervention, they certainly feel aggressive to young women like Hattie. ‘I didn’t understand why somebody would try to get involved in my life in that kind of way,’ she says. ‘It felt really personal.’