‘Distressing loophole with abortion clinic security zones is one other tactic to harass ladies’

Abortion clinics in England and Wales are now protected by ‘safe access zones’ from today – but campaigners have warned of a concerning loophole.

The new rules mean anti-abortion protestors cannot picket within a 150-metre radius outside clinics as part of the Public Order Act – however the legislation isn’t fully comprehensive. Silent prayer is not automatically banned, which has been known to intimidate women entering and leaving clinics.

Instead, police will deal with each case individually after opponents of the new law repeatedly insisted that it would be a “gross intrusion in the right of freedom of religion, free speech.” One clinic that has for years been fighting for women to be able to access safe and non-judgemental treatment is the MSI Reproductive Choices centre in Fallowfield, Manchester, previously known as Marie Stopes.

It has barely seen a ‘pro-life’ demonstrator since the council agreed to introduce a public space protection order on Wynnstay Grove and the area surrounding the clinic four years ago following clashes with protestors.

They previously had anti-abortion activists intimidating women and staff entering the clinic, fronting graphic abortion-related imagery and carrying out ‘prayer vigils’, with some even recording clinic users without their consent. The pro-life campaigners travelled far and wide to wait outside the clinic to brandish their placards, while some quietly prayed in the street.

In February 2019, staff reported protestors with signage that stated: “You shall not murder,” who approached staff shouting “You murdering b*****d”, “God is judging you”, while another was prosecuted after pleading guilty to a public order offence.

Louise McCudden, UK head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices, told the Mirror: “After years of fighting for national Safe Access Zones, we are delighted that the government has brought them into force. People seeking an abortion in England and Wales will now be able to access care without harassment and intimidation on the clinic doorsteps.

“As well as the harassment we experience outside our UK clinics, as a global provider, we are seeing very real rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States since the reversal of Roe v Wade. As anti-choice campaigners around the world escalate their tactics, trying to manipulate women with misinformation, this step from the UK government sends a powerful message that they stand with women and girls.”

Under section 9 of the Act, it is an offence for someone to, within this area, do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences someone’s decision to use abortion services, obstructs them, or causes harassment, alarm or distress to someone using or working at the premises. But there has been a delay in implementing the so-called buffer zones since the law was passed last year, as arguments persisted around whether silent prayer should be included.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) indicated they could seek legal action, saying any inclusion of silent prayer “needs to be properly tested in the courts”. Crown Prosecution Service guidance states that a person carrying out activities within a zone such as silent prayer “will not necessarily commit a criminal offence”.

It adds: “Prosecutors will need to consider not only all the facts and circumstances of the particular conduct but also the context in which the conduct takes place.” The person suspected of an offence does not have to know or believe they are in a safe access zone, the guidance states.

In March 2023, MPs rejected attempts to allow silent prayer in the zones, voting down an amendment from a group of Tory and DUP MPs aimed at ensuring no offence is committed if a person is “engaged in consensual communication or in silent prayer” outside the clinics or hospitals offering abortion services.

Bishop John Sherrington, of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said the Government had “taken an unnecessary and disproportionate step backwards in the protection of religious and civic freedoms in England and Wales” in bringing in the new law. He said: “Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one’s private beliefs in public through witness, prayer and charitable outreach, including outside abortion facilities.”

In response to ‘silent prayer’ and other specific acts being a part of the ban, Ms McCudden said: “This law was never about prohibiting a list of specific actions. The anti-abortion groups are good at finding new ways to harass women and they often adopt new tactics.

“What the law spells out very clearly is that any attempt to influence or obstruct abortion care, and any behaviour which makes people feel harassed, alarmed, or distressed will fall foul of the law – and rightly so. With regard to so-called silent prayer, we hear from women regularly who tell us they absolutely do experience this behaviour as harassment and feel distressed as a result, whether the anti-abortion groups consider their actions to be a form of prayer or not.

“It’s right that the police use their judgment and consider incidents on a case-by-case basis, but we would expect most examples of what anti-abortion groups call ‘silent prayer’ to be moved along by the police. After all, why not pray outside the safe access zone? It’s only 150 metres.

“It’s difficult to see how anyone choosing to perform their prayers right outside an abortion clinic could argue they aren’t attempting to influence people – and there are countless testimonies from women who say this makes them feel distressed.”

In a detailed account, sharing how she felt harassed by a group of six pro-life campaigners outside the Manchester clinic before the buffer zone was implemented, one woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Mirror: “They were all staring at me as we pulled up in the car. Then they approached us as we got out, but I ignored them. It made me upset, and feel guilty about my decision as though they were judging me.”

The woman, who was accompanied by a friend for support, said the group were holding up a large sign stating ‘Do not kill offspring’ along with other graphic posters. They were armed with plastic foetuses and had a video camera. “The protesters were praying loudly and trying to engage me in conversation as I was on my way into the clinic,” she recalled.

“They shouted at me when I wouldn’t stop to speak to them, which made me so upset.” She had travelled from Ireland, and had therefore been awake all night, and was fasting for the procedure. “I just wanted to get it over with. I didn’t need to see their posters or have them pray for me. It was none of their business. I was so worried about them taking my picture when I left the clinic. It was so intimidating.”

Police presence is not expected to be in place on Thursday outside clinics, with staff instead continuing to follow the usual practice of calling officers if there is a problem. Legislation creating buffer zones around abortion clinics in Scotland came into force in September while they have been in place in Northern Ireland for a year.