Hope for progress as Gillian Mackay's abortion clinic buffer zones bill launches

People will be asked to offer their views on whether they believe there should be a no-go zone for pro-life activists in the immediate vicinity of abortion clinics ahead of draft legislation being drawn up later this year.

The matter has become a hot topic in recent months as demonstrations have intensified outside sexual health clinics across Scotland.

Pro-choice campaign groups such as Back Off Scotland have been pushing strongly for Holyrood to act to protect patients and staff who feel intimidated by protestors.

And some demonstrations have been fuelled further following news that a leaked document has suggested the US Supreme Court is preparing to overturn a ruling which made abortion legal across all states, known as Roe vs Wade.

Mackay insists Scotland must help change this direction of travel and hopes her bill will help people to access healthcare they have a right to, in peace.

She told The National: “We’re now at the point where Scotland can say all it likes about being progressive nation in terms of protecting rights and all sorts of those things but, in light of Roe vs Wade, we need to continue that and this is naturally the next step to make sure these services and the staff are protected.

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“With these protesters, it’s a type of bullying. You’re trying to bully someone with your presence to make a different decision.

“The protesters will say they are the last line of defence but most of the time what they’re doing is making a hard time worse for many people going in [to clinics].

“They are trying to influence people already in a vulnerable situation and no one should be monitored going in and out of hospitals. We’ve had anecdotal accounts from people who said they went in with their partner who then went out for a cigarette and was then approached by one of the protestors saying 'oh we saw you go in earlier', which is even more of an invasion of privacy then just attempting to make someone make a different decision.

A large anti-abortion protest took place earlier this year in Glasgow outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (Image: PA)

“It has now escalated to different sites, is more frequent and protests are now louder and more aggressive.

“We’ve seen the rolling back of abortion rights in other countries as well so there is a definite direction of travel that we need to stand against and I think that’s one of the things this bill could do; start a pull in the other direction.”

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The working title of the bill is Proposed Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) and people and organisations will be asked around 20 questions around whether they believe in buffer zones and, if so, how they should be implemented.

There will also be the opportunity for those who have experienced facing protesters to share their experiences.

The proposal has been on the cards for some time, appearing in various party manifestos in the run-up to the Holyrood election and the Programme for Government. Back Off Scotland has been campaigning for the implementation of buffer zones since late 2020.

But campaigners have been frustrated by the lack of movement from ministers. While standing against pro-life demonstrations outside clinics, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said there are “complex legal issues” around human rights which have slowed down the Government’s ability to ban protests.

Mackay says she believes though politicians can work together to get to a stage where the bill will pass, especially as a similar buffer zone law has recently passed in Northern Ireland.

When asked if she thought the legislation would go through, she said: “I’m pretty confident.

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“There are those complications [mentioned by Sturgeon] but those were overcome at Stormont when the bill was passed over there. There is a legal challenge now on that bill but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be struck down.

“I’m fairly confident we can get to a point where we can get the Government on board. From the debate we had before Christmas, the LibDems committed to supporting the issue and Labour did too. The Tories have not come out with an opinion one way or the other.”

Mackay says she ideally wants every party to get on the same page so protestors know their beliefs do not align with any group at Holyrood.

“I would like as many parties as possible to back it because that’s saying to these protestors that there is no political allegiance for you at Holyrood. It tells them this is not okay,” Mackay added.

The ultimate aim, Mackay says, is to get to a place where people getting intimidated over their decision to terminate their child is just a thing that used to happen.

“I hope for anyone who has been worried about attending these appointments, I hope it’s going to provide assurance they’re not going to run that gauntlet,” she said.

“And for anyone who has never thought about it but might have to access these services, I hope they’ll never have to run into these protesters.

“The end goal is that this will just be a blip, something that used to happen and no longer does, and it will no longer factor into people’s concerns when they go for these healthcare appointments and that their minds are just solely focused on their well-being and their appointment and their recovery.”