UK – Council ban on protests outside abortion clinic upheld by appeal court

Council ban on protests outside abortion clinic upheld by appeal court
Anti-abortion activists argued Ealing’s buffer zone for Marie Stopes clinic was unjustified

Frances Perraudin and agencies
Wed 21 Aug 2019

Anti-abortion activists have lost a court of appeal challenge against a council’s decision to ban protesters from gathering outside a clinic in west London.

Judges on Wednesday dismissed an appeal against an earlier ruling that the restrictions imposed by Ealing council outside a Marie Stopes clinic were justified.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/aug/21/council-ban-on-protests-outside-abortion-clinic-upheld-by-court-of-appeal

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

Campaigners await UK decision on abortion clinic buffer zones

Campaigners await UK decision on abortion clinic buffer zones
Pro-choice activists say they expect announcement from Home Office within weeks

Caroline Davies
Mon 13 Aug 2018

Campaigners calling for buffer zones to prevent harassment and abuse of women accessing abortion centres are expecting a Home Office announcement within weeks.

The Labour MP Rupa Huq, who leads a cross-party campaign calling for national legislation following the model of the UK’s first abortion clinic safe zone in Ealing, west London, said the home secretary had pledged an announcement in September.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/13/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-campaigners-await-uk-decision

Ban on anti-abortion protests at London clinic disproportionate, court hears

Ban on anti-abortion protests at London clinic disproportionate, court hears
Council accused of infringing freedom of speech with ban at Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing

Dan Sabbagh
Thu 7 Jun 2018

An anti-abortion group seeking to overturn the UK’s only exclusion zone around a Marie Stopes clinic, in Ealing, west London, have told judges they believe the council’s actions amounted to an illegal discrimination against their right to free speech and peaceful protest.

Alasdair Henderson, a lawyer representing a woman who is a member of the Good Counsel Network, said that the ban on protesters from being within 100 metres of the clinic should be struck down because the effect on the anti-abortion group was “inherently disproportionate”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/07/anti-abortion-protests-ban-ealing-marie-stopes-clinic-london

MPs call for exclusion zones around abortion clinics to stop protests

MPs call for exclusion zones around abortion clinics to stop protests
Home secretary urged to follow lead of Ealing council in effort to prevent harassment

Dan Sabbagh
Thu 31 May 2018

Dozens of MPs are demanding Sajid Javid introduce exclusion zones outside abortion clinics in England and Wales to prevent protesters from harassing women, ahead of a court case that could see the sole existing safety area scrapped.

Rupa Huq, who represents Ealing Central and Acton, accused the home secretary of sitting on a review started by his predecessor Amber Rudd, which she and 160 other MPs and peers from all parties believe could halt emotive anti-abortion protests that take place outside an estimated 42 clinics.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/31/mps-call-for-exclusion-zones-around-abortion-clinics-protests-harassment

UK – Woman died after repeated failures at abortion clinic, inquest hears

Woman died after repeated failures at abortion clinic, inquest hears
Narrative verdict criticises London clinic’s treatment of Aisha Chithira after termination

Press Association
Tue 1 May 2018

A coroner has criticised repeated failures at a high-profile London abortion clinic following the death of a woman hours after having a termination.

Dr Sean Cummings said the case involving Aisha Chithira, 31, who travelled to from Ireland to undergo the procedure at a Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing in January 2012, was “desperately sad”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/01/london-abortion-clinic-criticised-in-inquest-into-womans-death

01.05.2018

UK – Ealing abortion clinic buffer zone comes into force

Ealing abortion clinic buffer zone comes into force

23 April 2018

A buffer zone has come into force around an abortion clinic in west London.

The order means neither anti-abortion nor pro-choice campaigners are able to stand within 100m (330 ft) of the Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing.

Councillors voted unanimously to implement the safe zone after women complained of intimidation.

Continued: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-43864465

23.04.2018

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Britain enforces first abortion clinic exclusion zone

Britain enforces first abortion clinic exclusion zone

Apr 23, 2018

LONDON (AFP) - A ban on pro-life protests outside an abortion clinic in London came into force on Monday (April 23) in a first that pro-choice campaigners hope will set a precedent for the country.

The local authority in Ealing, west London, imposed an exclusion zone after claims that women and staff at the Marie Stopes clinic were being intimidated and harassed by vigils that have been held outside the building for more than 20 years.

Continued: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/britain-enforces-first-abortion-clinic-exclusion-zone

UK – At least eight local authorities in England are examining whether to follow Ealing’s lead

At least eight local authorities in England are examining whether to follow Ealing’s lead

Sarah Marsh
Mon 23 Apr 2018

Eight councils in England are considering setting up abortion clinic buffer zones after pro-choice groups said the number of “intimidating” protests was on the rise.

Across the country, 42 vigils and protests have taken place between 2017 and 2018, according to figures compiled by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). They were led by a number of anti-abortion groups including the Good Counsel Network and 40 Days for Life.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/23/abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-being-considered-by-more-councils-lambert-protests

UK – What it’s like to go to an abortion clinic during anti-abortion protests

What it's like to go to an abortion clinic during anti-abortion protests
'The mood is strangely sombre'

Olivia Petter
Sunday 22 April 2018

Walking down a residential street in Ealing towards Marie Stopes, the abortion clinic where pro-life protesters will be banned from gathering outside as of Monday, I’m struck by an eerie silence.

Far from the vociferous protesters I’d expected, who have allegedly accosted visitors with fetal photographs and blocked them from entering clinics across the capital, the mood outside 87 Maddock Lane is strangely sombre and sepulchral.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/anti-abortion-protests-ealing-council-ban-marie-stopes-london-a8316036.html

22.04.2018