The British Humanist Association (BHA) has today called for the law to be changed to enable the creation of buffer zones around abortion clinics.
The call comes in a joint letter in today’s Times organised by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and signed by three royal colleges, and pro-choice, women’s rights, and sexual and reproductive health groups as well as the BHA.
It says that ‘all women should be able to access legal abortion services free from harassment and intimidation. The behaviour of anti-abortion extremists outside UK clinics is unacceptable, as evidence broadcast in Channel 4’s Dispatches confirms. We cannot simply look on as these groups become increasingly emboldened because the police are unable to act. The vast majority of the public are pro-choice, and those who seek to demonise women grappling with hard decisions are few in number. However, they can cause misery and, in the worst cases, deliberately risk women’s health with lies and misinformation. We urge the home secretary to establish buffer zones outside clinics before this situation escalates any further.’
The letter follows on from a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary which has exposed a campaign of harassment and intimidation by anti-abortion activists of women attempting to access abortion facilities. The BHA has long supported the Back Off campaign, which seeks a change in the law in this area.
The documentary revealed groups such as Abort 67, 40 Days for Life, and the Good Counsel Network intercepting women trying to gain entry to clinics, with women reporting being physically handled by activists and one clinic even having someone paid to stand outside.
Activists were found to be referring women to so-called ‘crisis pregnancy centres’, which purport to be neutral sources of information on abortion but in fact are anti-abortion. In 2014, a report by Education for Choice showed such problems among these centres were widespread, and the documentary demonstrated that this is still the case.
‘It is already illegal to harass and intimidate women, but as the documentary demonstrated, in practice current laws do not provide the police with the tools they need to intervene to prevent such harassment,’ said BHA Director of Public Affairs Pavan Dhaliwal. ‘Giving the police new powers to establish buffer zones around clinics would not stifle anti-abortion activists’ free speech, but would ensure that women can access services without being harassed or physically obstructed.’
Notes to editors
For further comment or information, please contact BHA Director of Public Affairs and Policy Pavan Dhaliwal on pavan@humanists.uk or 0773 843 5059.
The letter to the Times was signed by: Ann Furedi, Chief Executive, British Pregnancy Advisory Service; Polly Neate, Chief Executive, Women’s Aid; Professor Lesley Regan, President, Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists; Justine Roberts, Founder, Mumsnet; Sam Smethers, Chief Executive, Fawcett Society; Natika H Halil, Chief Executive, FPA; Vivienne Hayes, Women’s Resource Centre; Pavan Dhaliwal, Director of Public Affairs and Policy, British Humanist Association; Marai Larasi, Executive Director, Imkaan; Sarah Green, End Violence Against Women; Professor Lesley Regan, President, Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists; Dr Asha Kasliwal, President, Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare; Dr Kate Guthrie, Co-Chair, British Society of Abortion Care Providers; Professor Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive, Royal College of Midwives; Ros Bragg, Director, Maternity Action; Dawn Thomas, Co-Chair, Rape Crisis England and Wales; Dianne Whitfield, Co-Chair, Rape Crisis England and Wales.
Watch the Dispatches documentary: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand/62890-001
Read the letter in today’s Times: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/citizenship-and-listing-foreign-employees-d8fr3xx87
Read more about the BHA’s campaigns work on abortion: https://humanists.uk/campaigns/public-ethical-issues/sexual-and-reproductive-rights/
Read more about the Back Off campaign: back-off.org
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.