CROSS-PARTY MSPs have given their overwhelming support to Green MSP Gillian Mackay’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill following a key debate.
A total of 123 MSPs backed the bill at Stage 1 on Tuesday while one – SNP MSP John Mason – voted against it.
The bill, if given the eventual green light, will create 200m safe access zones to stop anti-choice campaign groups from protesting outside hospitals or other abortion service providers in Scotland.
While the general principles of the bill were backed by MSPs across the whole chamber, there were concerns raised about how the law would be enforced, whether the distance of 200m should apply to all sites offering abortion care and whether there should be an exemption made for those engaging in silent prayer – all of which will continue to be scrutinised at subsequent stages.
Mackay said allowing an exemption for silent prayer would make Scotland an outlier in the UK, with this not having been put in place in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, while she said she was keen to “resist” attempts to reduce the proposed distance of 200m.
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Prolific opponent of the legislation Mason was the sole politician who spoke out against the bill, as he claimed there was “very little evidence” of any harassment of women taking place outside abortion clinics adding that the country.
He added the country was "in need of more children and larger families" as he urged MSPs to "think about the baby in all of this", but he was severely outnumbered when it came to the vote.
Mackay opened the long-awaited debate with a harrowing account of a women who answered the consultation on the bill, who said she had endured “two large older men screaming” at her while she was alone trying to access abortion care which led her to carry “guilt for years”.
Mackay added in his statements to the chamber: “This is a relatively small bill, but the size does not reflect the depth of feeling it has provoked or the scale of change it will bring.
“Abortion can be deeply polarising. I don’t expect to change that, but this bill is not about the rights or wrongs of abortion. It is about the right and ability of patients to access care without running a gauntlet of disapproval and judgement.
“I am confident this bill is a proportionate means of protecting women and staff from activities that can have profound consequences.
“There are women who have sought abortion care and felt unable to defend themselves in the face of activity designed to shame and frighten them. Today, everyone in his chamber has a chance to show they are willing to work on their behalf to provide them with a defence.”
The debate took place at a turbulent time in Scottish politics following the sudden resignation of Humza Yousaf as First Minister following his abrupt termination of the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.
However, Mackay (above) told The National she wanted it to be a moment of “focus” for the Parliament with the bill having been “a long time coming”.
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The question of how silent prayer should be handled was raised as a concern by almost every MSP who spoke including Tories Meghan Gallacher and Sandesh Gulhane, with the latter suggesting the bill was not quite “ready” in its current form as he expressed fears about “criminalising thought”.
But Green MSP and practicing Christian Ross Greer sought to quote a passage from the Bible in the chamber as he argued proximity should not be a factor in prayer.
He said: “Freedom of thought is absolute, but our right to manifest our views is not absolute and in this case does not trump a woman’s right to access healthcare.
“It is not a ban on protest, it is purely a ban on proximity when doing so. I just don’t believe proximity is essential for those wanting to express anti-abortion views.
“We are explicitly not called to pray performatively in public. Jesus is actually really specific about that. Praying to God does not require proximity to what or who you are praying for. Proximity in this case is clearly intended to influence the outcome. “
SNP MSP Rona Mackay also argued that “praying for the souls of unborn children” was a “human right”, but believed when it was taking place outside an abortion provider this “moved the dial massively”.
She said: “I believe these so-called vigils amount to the targeted intimidation of women.
“Singing, chanting and praying outside clinics are designed to create distress. This is passive aggression at its worst, designed to heap blame and to emotionally blackmail women into feeling guilty and ashamed.
“Protests targeted at women trying to access healthcare are downright sinister.”
The bill will now progress to Stage 2 where it will receive amendments and further scrutiny before a final vote at Stage 3.
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