Buffer zones to be introduced outside abortion clinics after lengthy delays

‘The right to access abortion services is a fundamental right for women in this country, and no one should feel unsafe when they seek to access this,’ Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips says

So-called buffer zones are supposed to stop anti-abortion demonstrators standing outside or in close vicinity (Alamy/PA)

Buffer zones will soon be introduced outside abortion clinics to stop women seeking abortions from being harassed by protesters.

The government announced on Wednesday that buffer zones will be enacted around abortion clinics from 31 October and it will be against the law to influence, harass or provoke those using or delivering pregnancy termination services.

It comes after healthcare providers recently told The Independent anti-abortion activists are ramping up protests outside clinics in the wake of the government’s failure to introduce “buffer zones” outside abortion clinics.

MPs voted in favour of nationwide buffer zones outside abortion clinics in England and Wales in October 2022 but the Home Office under the previous Tory government failed to roll them out.

The UK’s leading abortion provider, MSI Reproductive Choices, previously called for the government to bring in the safe zones immediately. So-called buffer zones are supposed to stop anti-abortion demonstrators standing outside or in close vicinity.

The new laws will apply to a 150m radius of the abortion service provider - with those who infringe the new rules facing a fine of an unlimited amount.

We will not sit back and tolerate harassment, abuse and intimidation as people exercise their legal right to healthcare, which is why we have fast-tracked this measure to get it up and running without further delay.

Jess Phillips

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said: “The right to access abortion services is a fundamental right for women in this country, and no one should feel unsafe when they seek to access this.

“We will not sit back and tolerate harassment, abuse and intimidation as people exercise their legal right to healthcare, which is why we have fast-tracked this measure to get it up and running without further delay.

“For too long abortion clinics have been without these vital protections, and this government is determined to do all we can do to make this country a safer place for women.”

The College of Policing and Crown Prosecution Service will release guidelines for police and prosecutors before the new buffer zones are rolled out.

Baroness Merron, minister for patient safety, women’s health and mental health, said: “No woman should feel scared or threatened when accessing these services, and it is only right they are protected from any abuse or harassment.

“This government will continue to work closely with NHS England, abortion providers and the wider sector to ensure that women have access to safe, high-quality abortion services.”

The behaviour we’ve seen outside our clinics includes spitting, calling women ‘murderers’, crying out ‘mummy! mummy!’ to women as they enter or leave, filming or taking photographs, and handing out false medical information.

Louise McCudden

Louise McCudden, of MSI Reproductive Choices, said: “Women and frontline healthcare workers will finally have the protection they deserve from anti-abortion harassment outside clinics and hospitals.

“The behaviour we’ve seen outside our clinics includes spitting, calling women ‘murderers’, crying out ‘mummy! mummy!’ to women as they enter or leave, filming or taking photographs, and handing out false medical information.”

She said rolling out buffer zones shows the new UK government is “not only supporting women in England and Wales to exercise their own reproductive rights safely and with dignity, but they are also sending a clear signal to anti-rights groups elsewhere that their harassment of women is not acceptable”.

Ms McCudden added: “Whatever your personal views are on abortion, nobody should be harassed while accessing healthcare.”

Olivia Home, who manages one of MSI Reproductive Choices’ abortion clinics in central London, previously told The Independent that anti-abortion demonstrators harass women seeking abortions – with some followed and pestered as they walk to the train station after treatment.

She added: “They shout insults at women and people, they either shout ‘murderer’, ‘baby killer’ or anything along those lines. They hand out leaflets and rosary beads and the leaflets may contain graphic and quite offensive imagery.

“They also hand out baby toys whose limbs have been removed which are covered in fake blood. They sometimes spit from their mouths at clients or healthcare professionals or they splash holy water at them.”