BBC
Feb 14, 2024
A law to ensure buffer zones around abortion clinics is needed "quickly", the health secretary has said.
Neil Gray described protests from anti abortion groups outside medical facilities as "unacceptable". Mr Gray was speaking at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow, one of several sites targeted by the 40 Days for Life pro-life group.
Oct 6, 2023
A bill designed to stop protests outside Scotland's abortion clinics has been published at Holyrood. Green MSP Gillian Mackay's bill would set up "buffer zones" around the facilities, preventing people from gathering nearby.
It is likely to have cross-party support and is being backed by the Scottish government. Anti-abortion campaigners from the USA have said they will challenge any such law in the courts.
Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67021626
Sept 27, 2023
By Craig Williams, BBC Scotland
Pro-choice activists are calling on MSPs to speed up the creation of buffer zones around Scotland's abortion clinics.
The Scottish government is backing a bill which would ban anti-abortion groups from gathering outside clinics.
But campaigners for buffer zones say Scotland is being left behind the rest of the UK.
June 04, 2023
The Scottish Government does not have a duty to protect the feelings of the public, the head of an anti-abortion group has said.
Shawn Carney, the co-founder and chief executive of 40 Days for Life, rejected accusations his group had harassed women attempting to access abortions.
Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay is expected to publish a widely supported Bill this month to establish buffer zones around abortion clinics, which is expected to pass Holyrood without issue.
The Texas-based group 40 Days for Life has brought its aggressive tactics to more than 1,000 cities in 65 countries.
Jessica Bateman
January 9, 2023
There were four or five protesters outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, the first time Dr. Greg Irwin saw them. He was driving to his job as a consultant radiologist when he noticed the group hoisting placards opposite the parking lot, close to the maternity unit. BEFORE I FORMED YOU IN THE WOMB I KNEW YOU, one sign read, alongside a Bible reference. “Oh, my God,” Irwin thought. “It’s one of those American protests.”
After he parked in his usual spot, an older woman holding rosary beads smiled as he approached. “We’re holding a prayer vigil,” she explained, adding that they were offering “support and advice” to women. Irwin noticed their placards were branded with the logo of 40 Days for Life. When he googled the name later that night, he expected to find a local church organization. Instead, he discovered the shiny, high-budget website of a Texas-based group, emblazoned with pictures of men in sharp suits with dazzling white teeth. A counter in the corner ticked down the numbers of babies “saved” worldwide. Scrolling, he saw a map festooned with red pins, marking group locations all over the world. Irwin stared at his screen, bewildered. How could there be a connection between a group in Texas and the woman outside his hospital in Scotland?
Despite claims from opponents, no one is profiting from an ‘abortion industry’ in the UK, writes Gemma Clark
By Gemma Clark
December 27, 2022
The overturning of Roe v Wade in America (which ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion) has had a ripple effect across the world.
Anti-abortionists have become emboldened, and abortion rights activists are working harder than ever to safeguard reproductive rights.
By Lynsey Bews
Sept 28, 2022
A US anti-abortion campaign group has said it will help mount a legal challenge if a law to implement buffer zones is passed in Scotland.
Texas-based 40 Days for Life is already active outside clinics and hospitals in Scotland.
The group's volunteers carry out what they term "vigils" but others claim the protests intimidate vulnerable women.
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