This London Abortion Clinic Vote Could Make History

Ealing Council in West London is set to vote on whether to introduce a 100 metre buffer zone around the Marie Stopes Centre. The centre provides abortions, contraception advice, counselling and other sexual health services. This would be the first abortion centre in the UK to have a buffer zone.

What is a buffer zone?

Ealing Council is going to vote on whether to introduce a public spaces protection order (PSPO) which would specifically prevent anti-abortion protestors from entering a 100-metre area around the Marie Stopes centre. Anyone who violated the PSPO would be subject to a fine of up to £1,000. PSPOs can be controversial – Hackney Council tried to introduce a PSPO in 2015 that would have banned rough sleeping.

Why do they want a buffer zone?

The call for a buffer zone came from a petition created by local women. The Marie Stopes centre has been a regular spot for anti-abortion protestors for the last 20 years. The behaviour of the anti-abortion protestors is recorded in a log by patients and staff at the centre, with one woman writing that she was asked 'Are you sure you want to kill your baby?' by a protestor outside the clinic.

Pro-choice activists and supporters of the clinic are hoping this buffer zone will protect patients – statistically, 1 in 3 women is will have an abortion in their lifetime. Sadiq Khan has stated his support for a buffer zone, arguing that we should not tolerate ‘target[ed]…harassment and intimidation’ of women seeking abortions.

Why is the buffer zone so controversial?

This would be the first buffer zone outside a UK abortion centre. Anti-abortion activists argue that they are being prevented from taking peaceful action and providing support to the women who they see as being in crisis.

Alithea Williams of the Society for Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has also claimed that if the anti-abortion activists were harassing women or breaking the law, they would have been arrested already. In response, pro-choice campaigners have said that they do not believe harassment law is strict enough to protect women seeking abortions.

What could happen next?

If Ealing Council vote to approve the PSPO then anti-abortion protestors would be banned from protesting within 100 metres of the clinic. SPUC have already expressed their intention to appeal the decision if the council votes for the PSPO. Other councils may follow suit, as abortion clinics in Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff have also faced protests and ‘vigils’ from anti-abortion groups.

In March, a US group called 40 Days for Life held 12 protests around the UK to discourage women from seeking abortions. Ealing Council’s decision could impact whether buffer zones become standard practice outside abortion clinics across the UK.

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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.