Doctors call for action over abortion protests as patients face ‘deplorable intimidation and harassment’

Group of 76 clinicians urge government to introduce buffer zones following large demonstration outside Glasgow hospital

Nearly 80 doctors have called for action after a large anti-abortion protest was held near the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow (Getty)

Scores of doctors have called for action after a large anti-abortion protest was held near a hospital in Glasgow.

More than 100 anti-abortion activists from the 40 Days for Life campaign group gathered outside the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on Sunday.

In a letter to the Scottish government’s minister for women’s health, Maree Todd, a group of 76 clinicians from the hospital called for the introduction of buffer zones around abortion clinics as they accused the campaigners of intimidation and harassment.

A statement on the 40 Days for Life website says its international anti-abortion protests constitute a “peaceful and educational presence”.

Written by the Back Off Scotland campaign group, the letter said that every year, thousands of women having abortions in Scotland have to attend hospitals targeted by protesters.

Buffer zones would ban certain activities designed to deter or prevent women from accessing abortion care within 150 metres of the entrance to a clinic or hospital, the organisation said.

Similar measures have already been introduced in Northern Ireland, Spain and Australia, while Ealing Council in west London introduced the UK’s first ever buffer zone around an abortion clinic in 2018.

In their letter, the consultants wrote: “For the last six years, our patients have been subjected to these protests by associates of the American-based campaign group 40 Days for Life.

“This group seeks to restrict women’s access to healthcare. The stated aims for their ‘vigil’ are to serve ‘as a call to repentance for those who work at the abortion centre and those who patronise the facility’.

“As well as being our patients, these women are our sisters, daughters and colleagues. They deserve compassion and support. They should be spared the deplorable intimidation and harassment which they currently receive from protesters.

“Similar protests have been going on at hospitals and clinics across Scotland since the 1990s, and we believe that Scottish government action is long overdue.”

The group told Ms Todd it was time to “follow the lead” of the Northern Ireland assembly, which passed a bill mandating “safe access zones” outside abortion services last month.

Similar legislation against the harassment and intimidation of women was announced last week in Spain, and in Australia in 2021.

Alex Cole-Hamilton, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has also written to Ms Todd to ask the Scottish government to allow local authorities to introduce buffer zones.

Ms Todd said: “The Scottish government is committed to women being able to access timely abortion without judgement. I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any attempts to intimidate women as they choose to access abortion services.

“We look forward to Gillian Mackay MSP bringing forward her member’s bill on buffer zones, and I have publicly committed to work constructively with her in this regard.

“I have convened a working group with partners such as Cosla [the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities], Police Scotland and affected councils and health boards to look at how to address the vigils and protests that take place outside abortion clinics.”

The 40 Days for Life group is a US-based organisation that coordinates campaigns with the aim of ending abortion around the world.

According to its website, “The visible, public centerpiece of 40 Days for Life is a focused, 40-day, non-stop, round-the-clock prayer vigil outside a single Planned Parenthood center or other abortion facility in your community.

“It is a peaceful and educational presence. Those who are called to stand witness during this 24-hour-a-day presence send a powerful message to the community about the tragic reality of abortion.”

Additional reporting by Press Association