Carmarthen preacher Stephen Green fined for abortion clinic protest

1st February 2024
By James McCarthy & PA Media, BBC News

A preacher who protested outside an abortion clinic has been convicted of breaching a protection order.

Stephen Green, 72, held a sign bearing a religious verse in a part of Ealing, west London, covered by a public spaces protection order (PSPO) last February.

Outside the MSI Reproductive Choices Clinic, it was the first such zone to be introduced in the UK. Green's conviction was welcomed by campaigners who said people were fed-up of seeing behaviour like his.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-68174047


UK – Bournemouth: Anti-abortion group take action against clinic buffer zone

Dec 2, 2022

An anti-abortion group is taking legal action over a clinic buffer zone, claiming it censors free speech and criminalises reading from the Bible.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council is being taken to court for introducing the zone to protect staff and visitors from protests.

Christian Concern said the council's consultation held prior to its introduction was "questionable".

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-63834799


UK – MP seeks to ban demonstrations outside abortion clinics

MP seeks to ban demonstrations outside abortion clinics

Jun 24, 2020

A bill seeking to ban demonstrations outside abortion clinics has been proposed by Labour MP Rupa Huq.

Last year, pro-life protesters lost a legal challenge against the UK's first buffer zone implemented around a clinic in Dr Huq's constituency.

Ealing Council said a 100-metre exclusion zone at the Marie Stopes centre had been put in place after women complained of being intimidated.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53150759


USA – The Last Abortion Clinic in West Virginia

The Last Abortion Clinic in West Virginia

Esther Wang
Nov 18, 2019

The Women’s Health Center in Charleston, West Virginia is an unassuming, single-story beige brick building in a shabby neighborhood, just steps from the train tracks and a crisis pregnancy center, a shuttered vape shop, and a row of small homes surrounded by chainlink fences. I visited the center, the last abortion clinic in the state, on a Wednesday in June, one of the two days each week that the clinic performs abortions. Christopher McComas, 52, stood by the entrance to the clinic’s parking lot, equipped with a cell phone that he trained at everyone who approached the clinic.

“Hey brother, can I talk to you for a second? Please, for a second? Do you think it’s going to be a boy or a girl? Does it have blue eyes, or maybe brown eyes?” McComas yelled at one couple, a tall photo of a blood-covered fetus propped up by his side. “God loves you, please don’t do this ma’am! I beg you not to do this! It could be a boy or a girl,” he continued to yell at the couple as they entered the clinic, shielded by a large umbrella held by a clinic escort. “It could have brown hair!”

Continued: https://jezebel.com/the-last-abortion-clinic-in-west-virginia-1838886688


Andrew Little’s abortion reforms could ban protests outside clinics

Andrew Little's abortion reforms could ban protests outside clinics

Thomas Coughlan
Aug 05 2019

Protesting outside clinics that offer abortions could be banned under proposals outlined by the Government on Monday.

Justice Minister Andrew Little said the changes would allow "safe areas" to be created outside abortion clinics that would essentially prevent anti-abortion activists from protesting within 150m of the site.

Continued: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114764111/andrew-littles-abortion-reforms-could-ban-protests-outside-clinics


UK – Anti-abortion protesters contest ban at Court of Appeal

Anti-abortion protesters contest ban at Court of Appeal

16 July 2019

Anti-abortion campaigners have told judges a "buffer zone" outside a London clinic defies their right to protest.

Attendees of a vigil run by the Good Counsel Network (GCN) have challenged a ban on protests targeting users of the Marie Stopes facility in Ealing.

The 330ft (100m) buffer zone was imposed by Ealing Council in April 2018 after women complained of intimidation.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-49002638


Glasgow Council’s abortion protest buffer zone report overdue

Glasgow Council's abortion protest buffer zone report overdue

By Tamsin Selbie, BBC Scotland
23 March 2019

A pledge to look at how to implement "buffer zones" outside abortion clinics at Glasgow hospitals has missed its deadline, BBC Scotland has learned.

Glasgow City Council passed a motion in June last year backing the safe spaces "to protect women from obstruction or harassment when accessing services".

The move gained cross-party support and a report on how it could be done was promised by the end of last year.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-47567943


Canada – Priest charged in abortion bubble-zone flap to mount ‘free speech’ defence

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.

Continued: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/priest-charged-in-abortion-bubble-zone-flap-to-mount-free-speech-defence


Lawyers urge caution on Qld abortion laws

Lawyers urge caution on Qld abortion laws
1:47pm Sep 12, 2018

Legal experts have warned parts of proposed laws to decriminalise abortion in Queensland could be found unconstitutional.

A state parliamentary committee conducted a public hearing in Brisbane on Wednesday, with a variety of stakeholders giving their views on the proposed laws.

Continued: https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/09/12/05/09/committee-considers-qld-abortion-changes


Scotland – Anti-abortion protests face crackdown by Holyrood

Anti-abortion protests face crackdown by Holyrood

Mark McLaughlin
July 26 2018

Protesters outside Scottish abortion clinics are being monitored by police with a view to a possible crackdown.

Aileen Campbell, the public health minister, said that pro-life protests could be distressing for women and action may be required.

Some councils want “buffer zones” to keep demonstrators away from patients and staff after a surge in pro-life vigils.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/anti-abortion-protests-face-crackdown-by-holyrood-038tcxsdg