Pro-life ‘bullies’ face ban from abortion clinic buffer zones

Pro-choice demonstrators (foreground) face pro-life demonstrators outside the Marie Stopes clinic on Mattock Lane, ahead of a vote by Ealing Council on whether to implement a safe zone outside the west London abortion clinic (Picture: PA)

An MP is calling for buffer zones around abortion clinics to stop“bullying” protesters picketing them.

Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park, wants the law to ban anti-abortion protesters within 150 metres of surgeries so women will not be intimidated.

Clinics targeted by protesters include the Marie Stopes centre in Ealing and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in Finsbury Park.

Ms Olney told the Standard: “I feel strongly it’s a woman’s choice to make themselves. The law recognises it is people’s choice to make. They shouldn’t be subject to pressure or bullying ... it is unacceptable.” She is due to introduce a Private Member’s Bill calling for action tomorrow.

MP Sarah Olney (PA)

Ealing council has already implemented a 100-metre exclusion zone around the Marie Stopes centre. Protesters lost a legal challenge against the buffer last year.

The court heard clinic leaders had reported “intimidation, harassment and distress”.

Staff and patients described being called murderers, having things thrown at them and being met with graphic images of foetuses. Richmond council has also put an exclusion zone outside a BPAS clinic there.

But Ms Olney said that relying on councils cannot be a long-term solution. Since September 2018, 44 abortion service providers have experienced anti-abortion protests, according to BPAS, which is the leading provider of NHS-funded abortion care.

Labour MP Stella Creasy has also been targeted for her work in extending abortion rights in Northern Ireland.