Government ponders abortion protest bubble zones for schools
Emma Graney
Updated: March 15, 2019
Health Minister Sarah Hoffman says her government will amend legislation to extend abortion protest bubble zones around K-12 schools in Alberta.
Hoffman’s decision comes on the back of social media footage from Calgary this week which showed anti-abortion protesters confronting students from Queen Elizabeth High School with placards as students entered their school.
Priest charged in abortion bubble-zone flap to mount 'free speech' defence
Kelly Egan
October 31, 2018
A Roman Catholic priest charged under Ontario’s new “bubble zone” law protecting abortion clinics is vowing to challenge the accusation as a violation of his constitutional right to freedom of expression.
Father Anthony Van Hee, 83, a fixture on Parliament Hill for his anti-abortion protests, moved his silent demonstration across the street from the Morgentaler Clinic, on Bank Street near Sparks, on Oct. 24.
New laws needed to protect abortion clinic workers
Michelle Thompson
February 12 2018
Imagine going to work and being told by strangers you are going to hell. You have to push past people who tell you what you do is wrong, that you should be ashamed and that you’re doing the devil’s work. Your vehicle is regularly splashed by "holy water" that mysteriously blisters the paint on your car, and you have graphic images shoved in your face as you enter your workplace.
This is the reality for many Australian healthcare workers each day who provide abortion care to thousands of patients.
Continued: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/laws-to-protect-abortion-clinic-workers-20180212-p4z00u.html
Ontario makes it illegal to protest outside and near abortion clinics
Legislature passes bill to create zones around 8 abortion clinics in the province
The Canadian Press
Posted: Oct 25, 2017
It will soon be illegal to protest outside and near abortion clinics in Ontario.
The legislature passed a bill Wednesday to create zones around the eight clinics in the province of between 50 and 150 metres in which anti-abortion protests, advising a person not to get an abortion, and intimidation or interfering with a woman's ability to access the services will be banned.
The ban will also automatically apply to 150 metres around the homes of abortion staff and health professionals who provide the services.
Continued at source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-abortion-protest-bill-1.4372090
Anti-abortion protesters have acted with impunity for decades. That ends now
In a victory for women’s rights, a demonstrator has been found guilty of breaching safe access zones in Victoria
Tania Penovic and Ronli Sifris
Friday 13 October 2017
A 14-year-old girl, scared and vulnerable, realises that she is pregnant. A 43-year-old unemployed mother of five whose husband is recently deceased discovers she is pregnant and does not know how she will cope with another child. A 36-year-old woman with a planned pregnancy is processing a diagnosis of severe foetal abnormality.
Each year many Australian women deal with problem pregnancies. Some decide to continue with the pregnancy and some decide to terminate the pregnancy. Whatever the decision, they have a right to seek unbiased professional counselling and appropriate medical care; and they have a right to do so without being harassed, intimidated or interfered with as they are entering a clinic that provides the full range of reproductive health services. This is why Victoria’s safe access zone legislation, which prohibits certain conduct within 150m of a clinic at which abortions are provided, is so important.
Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/13/anti-abortion-protestors-have-acted-with-impunity-for-decades-that-ends-now
Make abortion clinic 'bubble zones' larger, advocates tell Ontario's AG
'Protests should take place a safe distance from where patients are seeking healthcare,' letter says
By Kate Bueckert, CBC News
Posted: Aug 02, 2017
A letter calling on the province to keep protesters 150 metres away from abortion clinics and health care providers who provide abortion services has been signed by eight reproductive rights advocacy groups, including one from Kitchener.
Lyndsey Butcher, executive director of the Shore Centre — formerly Planned Parenthood — said new legislation being drafted by Attorney General Yasir Naqvi is based on laws in other provinces, which mandate protesters must stay 50 metres away.
Continued at source: CBC http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/abortion-clinics-bubble-zones-lyndsey-butcher-1.4232561
'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
Yasir Naqvi to propose safe zones around Ontario abortion clinics
Similar laws already in place in B.C., N.L., Quebec
CBC News Posted: May 29, 2017
Ontario Attorney General and Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi plans to propose a bill this fall that would create safe zones around abortion clinics in the province, citing reports of harassment by a small group of protesters outside a clinic in his riding.
Naqvi made the announcement Monday morning alongside Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Coun. Catherine McKenney, saying laws like this are more important than ever in an increasingly polarized society.
Continued: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-province-protect-abortion-clincs-1.4135673
Ontario Attorney-General considering options to prevent harassment outside abortion clinics
Michelle Zilio
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney-General is looking at how it can stop harassment outside the province’s abortion clinics after a call from Ottawa’s mayor to consider a law that would ban protesters from demonstrating on the doorsteps of facilities that provide abortion services.
Mayor Jim Watson called on the government to review the possibility of legislation that would protect women from harassment by protesters outside abortion clinics, including one steps from Parliament Hill. Patients and staff at Ottawa’s Morgentaler abortion clinic have reported repeated pestering from anti-abortion protesters carrying graphic placards on the sidewalk outside 65 Bank St.
Continued at source: Globe & Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontario-attorney-general-considering-options-to-prevent-harassment-outside-abortion-clinics/article35109959/
Queen's Medical Centre ban plea over anti-abortion group
March 7, 2017
Legal powers should be used to remove anti-abortion campaigners from the grounds of a hospital in Nottingham, a pro-choice group has said.
Forty Days for Life has been holding a "vigil" at the Queen's Medical Centre, where abortions take place.
Nottingham Pro Choice said their presence near the hospital's treatment centre is "intimidating" to women.
Continued at source: BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-39190057
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