Scottish Parliament to hear evidence on buffer zones for abortion clinics
Buffer zones to separate anti-abortion protestors from patients in new bill / Credit: Pixabay
The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh will begin hearing evidence for a bill that would install 200-metre buffer zones at abortion clinics.
The Abortion Service Safe Access Zones (Scotland) Bill was presented to parliament by Green party MSP Gillian Mackay.
The buffer zones are to prevent anti-abortion protesters from interacting with patients and staff.
Organisations involved in the campaign behind the buffer zones and that presented evidence to parliament include Back Off Scotland and Engender.
Spokesperson for Abortion Rights Scotland and retired gynecologist Dr Audrey Brown said: “We do support the right to free speech and don’t wish to silence people who want to protest abortion, but they should not be allowed to protest directly outside NHS health clinics, where they are intimidating harassing and upsetting people who are accessing health care.”
The organisation Humanist Society Scotland has been a proponent of the bill proposed by Mackay.
Policy and Campaigns Officer Joe Higgins said: “Bodily autonomy is extremely important and we support anyone’s right to choose an abortion and access abortion services without facing intimidation or harassment.”
Brown said they have seen an increase in prayer vigils and the use of “aggressive language” by anti-abortion protestors.
The Health, Social Care, and Sport Committees are set to reach a viewpoint in the coming weeks.
Samantha Vega-Torres is a master’s student at Glasgow Caledonian University enrolled in the multimedia journalism program. She received her bachelor’s in communications with a concentration in journalism and media writing from Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts, USA.
