NETHERLANDS – Mayors can’t ban protests at abortion clinics, but can set limits: Council of State

Wednesday, 3 December 2025

Mayors can’t ban people from demonstrating at abortion clinics, but they can impose restrictions to prevent disorder, the Council of State ruled in four cases on Wednesday. For example, mayors can prohibit protests directly in front of the clinic’s entrance, as long as the location where demonstrators are permitted is within sight and hearing distance from the clinic, the Council of State said.

Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State issued rulings on four demonstrations at abortion clinics - one in Groningen, one in Amsterdam, and two in Heemstede. In all four cases, the mayor banned protesters from demonstrating directly in front of the clinic’s entrance to prevent disorder. The protesters disagreed with this.

Continued: https://nltimes.nl/2025/12/03/mayors-cant-ban-protests-abortion-clinics-can-set-limits-council-state

03.12.2025

News

anti-choice protesters

UK – Police ‘can’t decide’ if anti-abortion campaigner should be charged for silent prayer

Catholic charity worker says someone’s thoughts ‘cannot possibly be a crime’ and her ‘punishment has clearly been the process’

Martin Evans
30 November 2025

Police and prosecutors are “frozen with indecision” over whether to charge a woman for silently praying near an abortion clinic, campaigners have claimed.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Catholic charity worker, is being investigated by West Midlands Police for allegedly breaching a new buffer-zone law intended to prevent people protesting near abortion centres.

Continued: https://archive.is/7NIzF
(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/30/police-no-decide-anti-abortion-campaigner-charged/)

30.11.2025

News

ADF International

anti-choice protesters

buffer zones

Independent Office for Police Conduct

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce

UK – How Washington Turned NHS Abortion Into A Diplomatic Human Rights Cudgel

26 NOV 2025
Impact International

The decision to classify NHS‑funded abortions as a “Human Rights” violation marks a dramatic shift in how Washington uses its flagship Human Rights reporting to judge allied domestic healthcare systems. Through the annual country report, the US now treats “state‑sponsored” abortion, including routine NHS care in England and Wales, as a breach on par with other alleged abuses, transforming a settled area of UK health Policy into evidence of government wrongdoing. At the heart of this move is an attempt to recast abortion, along with other social questions, as a core Human Rights battleground rather than a matter of domestic legislative compromise.

Continued: https://impactpolicies.org/news/676/how-washington-turned-nhs-abortion-into-a-diplomatic-human-rights-cudgel

26.11.2025

Commentary

Abortion Act 1967

Adam Smith‑Connor

anti-choice protesters

Netherlands – Utrecht Mayor presses for law to block anti-abortion protests at clinic doors

Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Utrecht Mayor Sharon Dijksma is calling on the Dutch government to introduce national legislation banning anti-abortion protests directly in front of clinics, after the highest administrative court allowed activists to demonstrate at the doors of a Utrecht clinic.

According to NOS, the ruling is related to the Christian group Jezus Leeft, which the court allowed to protest directly outside the clinic with slogans such as “abortion is murder.” Utrecht had attempted to enforce a buffer zone but was overruled.

Continued: https://nltimes.nl/2025/09/16/utrecht-mayor-presses-law-block-anti-abortion-protests-clinic-doors

London anti-abortion march fuelled by US ‘hate group’

Over half of speakers on London’s March for Life’s programme have links with US Christian right group Alliance Defending Freedom.

By Alice McCool
Sep 5, 2025

A major anti-abortion march taking place in London this week is being heavily influenced by US Christian right group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), raising concerns about the import of anti-gender fundamentalism to the UK.

Good Law Project can reveal that over half of the speakers in London’s March for Life 2025 itinerary have direct links to ADF, an Arizona-based Christian legal organisation that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as an “anti-LGBTQ+ hate group”.

Continued: https://goodlawproject.org/london-anti-abortion-march-fuelled-by-us-hate-group/

SCOTLAND – Research into protests and vigils that take place outside clinics and hospitals offering abortion care

8 August 2025
From Minister for Public Health and Women's Health, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care

Chapter one: Introduction
This research was conducted by Rocket Science on behalf of the Scottish Government. Rocket Science are an independent research and evaluation organisation who were commissioned to examine the prevalence, scale and impact of protests and vigils taking place outside of healthcare facilities that offer abortion care in Scotland. Specifically, the research was undertaken to:

examine the prevalence, frequency and scale of vigils and protests which occur outside of healthcare facilities providing abortions

explore the impact of vigils and protests on patients’ ability to, and experiences of, accessing abortion services in Scotland.

understand the perspectives and motivations of those involved in protests and/or vigils.

Continued: https://www.gov.scot/publications/research-protests-vigils-take-place-outside-clinics-hospitals-offering-abortion-care/

08.08.2025

Research

anti-choice harassment

anti-choice intimidation

anti-choice protesters

anti-choice protests

anti-choice vigils

buffer zones

impacts of protesters

USA – Amid Rise in Anti-Abortion Activism, Clinic Protections Are More Needed Than Ever

How abortion clinic staff and volunteers are working to protect patients as the anti-abortion movement mobilizes against providers.

by Eleanor J. Bader
July 23, 2025

Fifteen years ago, when Eileen learned that anti-abortion protesters were jeering at people entering Equality Health Center in Concord, New Hampshire, she decided to take action to ensure patients’ security in her city.

Eileen, who asked that her last name be withheld to protect her privacy, has been a clinic escort ever since, walking patients into the building, listening to their stories, and doing what she can to distract them from anti-choice taunts. “I can’t abide injustice or inequality,” she tells The Progressive. “Escorting is highly emotional work, but I feel privileged to be able to help. As escorts, we put our bodies on the line and make a real difference.”

Continued: https://progressive.org/latest/anti-abortion-activism-clinic-protections/

23.07.2025

Commentary

Alliance Defending Freedom

anti-choice cruelty

anti-choice harassment

anti-choice hatred

anti-choice intimidation

anti-choice misogyny

anti-choice protesters

anti-choice terrorism

anti-choice violence

Center for Medical Progress

Choices Women’s Medical Center

clinic escorts

crisis pregnancy centers

duVergne Gaines

Eleanor Bader

FACE Act

Feminist Majority Foundation

Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act

National Abortion Federation

National Clinic Access Project

Progressive Anti-Abortion uprising

Edinburgh abortion clinic set for fresh round of harassment from US religious group – despite buffer zone laws

Ruth Suter & Chloe Goodall
Fri 4 July 2025

An Edinburgh clinic is set to endure a fresh round of anti-abortion harassment from an American religious group despite new laws designed to prevent protests taking place near clinics.

The Texas-based group, 40 Days for Life, announced online that it will hold a series of "prayer vigils" near Chalmers Clinic in September. The activity is expected to last for 40 days and will commence from September 24 with the last "vigil" to take place on November 2.

Continued: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/edinburgh-abortion-clinic-set-fresh-180623994.html

UK – MP campaigns for more safety precautions at abortion clinic

29th June, 2025
By Jess Skelton

A BOURNEMOUTH MP is campaigning to improve the safety of staff at an abortion clinic. In parliament earlier this month, Bournemouth East MP Tom Hayes spoke about the fears staff have at BPAS Bournemouth.

In parliament, he said: "I have spoken with the people who work at that clinic since that speech was given, and they are scared. "They want to support women’s reproductive rights and women’s health and safety, but staff members’ vehicles are being tampered with, and women seeking the clinic’s support are finding their access impeded."

Continued: https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/25269158.mp-campaigns-safety-precautions-abortion-clinic/

29.06.2025

News

anti-choice misogyny

anti-choice protesters

‘I’m an abortion nurse – I hold out hope UK won’t follow America’s draconian path’

At a time of progression and regression in the field of women's reproductive rights, abortion clinic nurse Kendall Robbins has shed light on what goes into her daily work, including the challenges and misconceptions she's come up against

Julia Banim
28 Jun 2025

Last week, Adriana Smith, a brain-dead woman whose decomposing body was kept alive so her baby could be born, was finally taken off life support. The newborn, named Chance, weighed just 1 lb 13oz. It was a case that has shocked those already repulsed by the controversial reversal of Roe vs Wade in the US, a move that has already resulted in women dying after being denied life-saving care.

…But could we see such horror stories unfolding in the UK in the not-too-distant future? Advanced practice development nurse Kendall Robbins, who deals with the realities of terminations on a daily basis, thinks not.

Continued: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/im-abortion-nurse-hold-out-35449310