A new campaign has launched calling on the government to introduce "buffer zones" near abortion clinics to protect women from "intimidation and harassment".
Back Off Scotland, a campaign group aiming to pressure the Scottish Government into legislating for 150 metre protest-free zones around clinics providing abortions, have launched a petition calling for legislation.
Originally launched in Edinburgh last year, the group say that in the capital and across Scotland women accessing abortion services continue to face "intimidation and harassment from anti-choice protestors".
Alice Murray, an Edinburgh University students who is supporting the campaign, has spoken of her own experience with protestors at Chalmers Sexual Health Centre.
She said the protestors made her feel anxious and targeted: "I went to the Chalmers Street clinic in my third year of university after finding out I was pregnant.
"When I approached the building, there were protesters on the other side of the road.
"Whilst they luckily didn’t approach me, I was very aware of their presence and they had signs. I went into the clinic alone and just wanted it to be an easy process, the staff inside were great but to have protesters outside questioning your decision really overshadows this and made the experience more stressful.
"They didn’t make me question my choice as I knew that I knew what was best for me, however they did add a lot of un-needed anxiety to the experience, it made me feel really angry and targeted.”
Back Off Scotland is aiming to compile over 10,000 signatures from Scots who want to see an end to the protests.
Commenting, Back Off Scotland Co-Founder, Lucy Grieve, stressed the group was not anti-free speech: “ Whilst our end goal is to legislate for 150 metre buffer zones around clinics and hospitals that provide abortion services in Scotland, it is important to stress that the campaign doesn’t look to de-platform any organisation.
"We believe in freedom of speech and freedom to protest but not in a context that creates barriers to accessing healthcare. We need change now to protect our rights of accessing legal, essential medical care without fear of harassment and distress.”
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Back Off Scotland National Petitions Co-Ordinator, Paola Lindo, added: "With the launch of this petition, we begin to once again call upon the Scottish Government to enact legislation that protects vulnerable people.
"There is a legislative gap when it comes to accessing sexual health clinics, and with every signature accrued, we gain one more reason by which to keep championing the cause to close this gap.”
