From 31 October, a 150-metre boundary, known as a ‘safe access zone’ is in place around all clinics and hospitals offering abortion services in England and Wales.
The move makes it a criminal offence to “intentionally or recklessly” cause harassment, alarm or distress, or to obstruct or try to influence any person’s decision to access abortion services, inside the new buffer zones. The move could ban actions including handing out anti-abortion leaflets, protesting against abortion rights, or shouting at individuals within 150 metres of clinics.
Lambeth residents have expressed concerns over a number of years about the activities of anti-abortion campaigners gathering outside the borough’s abortion services. The council has worked with organisations including the Police and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) to ensure women can exercise their legal right to access abortion services in the borough without encountering anti-abortion protestors.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Jacqui Dyer, Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities, said: “I’m very pleased that the Government is prioritising the rights of residents to access safe abortion services.
“We have always stood by a woman’s rights to choose, and we always will. These new protection zones are also important for the safety of people who work at reproductive health clinics.
“This has been a key issue for us for some time, and we know from consultations that our residents overwhelmingly support this policy.”
The new nationwide ‘safe access zones’ mean that, within the 150-metre boundaries, it is now a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly:
- influence any person’s decision to access or facilitate abortion services at an abortion clinic
- obstruct any person from accessing or facilitating abortion services at an abortion clinic
- cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person in connection with a decision to access, provide or facilitate abortion services at an abortion clinic
Police and prosecutors will consider each case individually based on the evidence. However, this could include:
- handing out anti-abortion leaflets
- protesting against abortion rights
- shouting at individuals attempting to access abortion services
This could also cover prayer, including:
- silent prayer
- holding vigils
- any behaviour where someone is intentionally trying to – or recklessly acting in a way that might – influence a person accessing the service
Anyone found guilty of breaking the new laws will face an unlimited fine.
