I CAN still remember the horror and revulsion I felt when I first saw images of the anti-choice protesters lined up outside Scottish hospitals.
They were armed with judgment and extremely graphic banners. It was clear that they were there to harass and intimidate people and to try to stop them from accessing the services they were entitled to.
My heart instantly went out to everyone who was having to endure the gauntlet. I could only imagine how they must have felt at that moment. A lot of them will already have felt vulnerable and the last thing they needed was this intimidation and aggression.
Where was the compassion? The protesters were trying to make them ashamed of the choice they had made. How could it be that we were in the 21st century and people were being forced to endure an experience like this on their way to a hospital?
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I could tell right away that the protesters had imported their aggressive and bullying tactics from some of the most extreme anti-choice campaigners in the United States. What I didn’t appreciate then was that their influence doesn’t stop there. Even protests in Scottish towns and cities are often organised and co-ordinated by international campaign groups.
As a newly elected MSP, I knew that I had a platform, a voice and the ability to do something to stop it.
Over the days and weeks ahead I learnt as much as I could. I spoke to campaign groups like Back Off Scotland and people who had been targeted by the protesters. I learned as much as I could and began the work on what would become my Members’ Bill. The clearest solution was to implement safe access zones, buffer zones as they are generally now known, which would stop the protests from taking place in a pre-designated area surrounding a site.
I knew that it was up to our Parliament to take the lead. It couldn’t be left to councils, or we would risk creating a postcode lottery where people living in some local parts of our country could end up having rights that others didn’t.
It is now two years later, and my bill has successfully been lodged with Parliament. It has taken a lot of work from a lot of people to get us to this point.
I received more than 12,000 responses to my consultation, with a lot of people sharing painful and traumatic stories and experiences with me. Meanwhile, many of those who opposed littered my teams’ inboxes and social media feeds with abuse.
That’s the crux of this. Far too many people have been targeted and far too many tears have been shed.
I am hugely grateful to everyone who took the time to contribute and to make this as strong a bill as possible.
I am also very grateful to my parliamentary colleagues. I know that politics can often feel polarised and fractured, but it was always crucial to me to ensure that my bill was supported by MSPs from all parties. It couldn’t just be Scottish Greens.
It’s not often that socially conservative Tory MSPs like Sharon Dowey and Rachael Hamilton find common cause with left-wing Labour MSPs such as Mercedes Villalba and Monica Lennon, but that is exactly what has happened.
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I’m also grateful for the support of the First Minister, Humza Yousaf, and his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, as well as their public health ministers, Maree Todd and Jenny Minto, who have all been huge sources of support for me and who have made clear that I have the backing of the Scottish Government.
The protesters may seek to divide people, but the response of MSPs from across our Parliament has shown that we are able to work together and build consensus.
It hasn’t been a quick process. We couldn’t afford to cut corners or make mistakes, because I am all too aware of my responsibility and of the need to ensure we get it absolutely right.
The Northern Ireland Assembly passed a similar bill in March 2021, following the great work of my Green colleague Clare Bailey, but it only came into effect last month due to a long delay that came as a result of a Supreme Court challenge.
The last thing I want is for the same thing to happen here.
I have learned a lot from the experience of Northern Ireland and the vital precedent that it set. Their success has cleared the path for us. But I have no doubt that there will be people who try to obstruct our bill too. We cannot let them succeed.
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That is why we have taken the time to consult widely and ensure that my bill is as watertight as possible. That is the least we can do for everyone who has had to face down protesters.
The launch of yet more 40 Days for Life protests across Scotland this month has underlined the urgent need to end such lamentable scenes and make them a thing of the past. Nobody should be treated that way or be made to face them again.
Despite having focused on buffer zones every day since, I can still remember the anger and determination that I felt when I first saw the images.
It is the same anger and determination that persists today.
Yet, as I signed my bill, I knew that we had turned a corner and taken a huge stride in finally ending them for good.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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