UK: Antisocial behaviour ruling could halt anti-abortion protests outside clinics

Antisocial behaviour ruling could halt anti-abortion protests outside clinics

Ealing council, in west London, votes to prevent protest as Labour MP calls for amendment to domestic violence bill to protect women visiting clinics

Jessica Elgot Political reporter
Thursday 12 October 2017

Anti-abortion protests outside clinics across the UK could be halted using antisocial behaviour legislation, a Labour MP has said, after her council took a significant decision to stop a group from approaching women at a west London clinic.

Rupa Huq MP said a “national and permanent response” was needed after Ealing councillors voted overwhelmingly this week in favour of a motion to stop the anti-abortion groups from protesting outside a Marie Stopes clinic in the borough.

Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/12/anti-social-behaviour-ruling-could-halt-anti-abortion-protests-outside-clinics

UK: Anti-abortion protesters could be banned from standing outside Marie Stopes clinic

Anti-abortion protesters could be banned from standing outside Marie Stopes clinic

Sophie Jamieson
11 October 2017

A local authority has voted to take action to stop pro-life campaigners "intimidating and harassing" women outside an abortion clinic.

The protesters could be banned from assembling outside the clinic after councilors voted overwhelmingly to take the "ground-breaking" decision.

Continued at source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/11/anti-abortion-protesters-could-banned-standing-outside-marie/

UK: Ealing Council to consider anti-abortion protest order

Ealing Council to consider anti-abortion protest order

9 October 2017
From the section London

A London council is considering legal action against anti-abortion protesters accused of "harassing" women attending a clinic.

Ealing Council will discuss options to prevent "the daily disruption and intimidation" at Marie Stopes clinic in Mattock Lane, Ealing.

Some protesters used "deliberately disturbing images", the council said.

Continued at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-41549235

09.10.2017

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Anna Veglio-White

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Canada province to ban abortion protests outside clinics

Canada province to ban abortion protests outside clinics

5 October 2017

A Canadian province is tabling legislation that would make it illegal to protest outside abortion clinics. Ontario's attorney general announced on Thursday that the government will introduce the Safe Access to Abortion Services Act.

If passed, the legislation would create "safe access zones" around abortion clinics as well as the homes of staff. Anti-abortion activists would not be allowed to protest within at least 50m (164ft) of a clinic or staff residence.

Continued at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41516615

Australia: ‘Safe zone’ around abortion clinics in WA supported by Labor left faction

‘Safe zone’ around abortion clinics in WA supported by Labor left faction

Daniel Emerson
Monday, 14 August 2017

Health Minister Roger Cook has made the case for “safe access zones” banning protests around abortion clinics, setting the scene for a bruising ideological brawl in the lead-up to Labor’s State conference.

The Left’s powerful United Voice faction has thrown its weight behind a suite of women’s health policies by a new internal group called WA Labor for Choice, which includes free, taxpayer-funded abortions anywhere in the State.

Continued at source: The West Australian: https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/labors-abortion-protest-row-ng-b88566347z

Australia: ‘Pretty tense’: What it’s like to run the gauntlet of anti-abortion protesters

'Pretty tense': What it's like to run the gauntlet of anti-abortion protesters

June 6 2017
Amelia Paxman

When Bridget Dominic booked an appointment at a Sydney clinic in November 2015, she didn't expect to have to contend with a cluster of anti-abortion protesters standing outside.

Bridget wasn't having an abortion – she was getting an IUD inserted at the clinic, which specialises in terminations but offers a range of other gynaecological services.

Continued at source: Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/news-and-views/news-features/pretty-tense-what-its-like-to-run-the-gauntlet-of-antiabortion-protesters-20170605-gwkqbr.html

U.S.: Witness The Trauma Of Abortion Clinic Harassment In Virtual Reality

Witness The Trauma Of Abortion Clinic Harassment In Virtual Reality
The Planned Parenthood project shows just how difficult accessing abortion can be.

By Jenavieve Hatch
May 24, 2017

As abortion access continues to come under threat in Congress, women who are trying to access the procedure are regularly confronted with anti-abortion harassment and vitriol outside of clinics nationwide. Planned Parenthood’s new virtual reality video, “Across the Line,” aims to show just how intense that experience can be.

The 8-minute video opens with a patient meeting her doctor, and recovering from the harassment she was victim to on the sidewalk.

Continued at source: Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/witness-the-trauma-of-abortion-clinic-harassment-in-virtual-reality_us_59258870e4b0650cc020a068

Miss-Information

Miss-Information
2017 ISSUE 1, Conscience
Abortion abortion access UK
Increased scrutiny reveals the deceptions and aggressions of antiabortion activists in the UK

By Clare Murphy / Posted Apr 19, 2017

In ‘Debating Abortion on Campus,’ published in the 2016(3) issue of Conscience, Jon O’Brien eloquently made the case for why prochoice advocates should not shy away from debate, documenting the censorship of the antichoice opposition that has crept onto campuses across the United Kingdom and the United States. “In a healthy society, people aren’t afraid to discuss things. We must never be afraid of the battle of ideas,” he wrote. Indeed. So why should women accessing abortion services be an exception, shielded from the ideas and opinions of protesters on the street outside? Should they, as the respected US lawyer and social critic Wendy Kaminer has argued, have to accept that “feeling intimidated, being confronted and ‘stressed’ by people who oppose abortion rights, is sometimes the price of free speech”?

Continued at source: Conscience: http://consciencemag.org/2017/04/19/miss-information/

UK: Abortion Rights Campaigners Say It’s “Extremely Worrying” That Anti-Abortion Protesters Used Facebook Live Outside A Clinic

Abortion Rights Campaigners Say It’s "Extremely Worrying" That Anti-Abortion Protesters Used Facebook Live Outside A Clinic

Anti-abortion group Abort67 used Facebook Live to stream its demonstration near a BPAS abortion clinic in Hastings.
posted on Feb. 13, 2017
Laura Silver
BuzzFeed News Reporter

Abortion rights campaigners have expressed concern that livestreaming could be used to publicly shame people seeking abortions, after an anti-abortion group used Facebook Live to broadcast a recent demonstration outside a clinic.

Abort67, which regularly uses graphic images of aborted foetuses in its protests, held a demonstration outside Hastings railway station on Friday to launch a new local branch of the group. The station is situated directly opposite a British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) clinic, a leading provider of abortion services.

Continued at source: Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/laurasilver/pro-choice-campaigners-say-its-extremely-worrying-that-anti?utm_term=.hf5ao9g6Oq#.tcaEDq5vx9

Australia: Mum speaks out amid abortion reform fight

Mum speaks out amid abortion reform fight
Derrick Krusche
13 Feb 2017

Emilee Body had heard much about the protesters outside Albury’s Englehardt Street abortion clinic. Feeling nervous as she approached it, she turned a corner and immediately saw them.

She remembered stories of women being harassed, being filmed and even being handed plastic foetal dolls as they entered the clinic.

Ms Body was stressed enough as it was, and did not want to suffer the indignity of their protests. But as her car entered the clinic’s driveway they started to approach. She locked eye contact with them and panicked.

Continued at source: Barossa Herald: http://www.barossaherald.com.au/story/4462632/mum-speaks-out-amid-abortion-reform-fight/?cs=2452