Protect abortion clinics from harassment, Jeremy Hunt urged

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/25/abortion-clinic-closure-open-letter-jeremy-hunt

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Britain’s health service is being “held hostage” by anti-abortion protesters who have forced the closure of one clinic and put another under threat, say campaigners.

In an open letter, a group of MPs, academics, health workers, authors and women’s rights campaigners have called on the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to protect NHS staff and services from “harassment”. Among the 30 signatories are Dr Susie Orbach, Richard Dawkins, Diane Abbott MP, Caroline Lucas MP, Baroness Gould, Kate Green MP and Dr Evan Harris.

Led by Kerry Abel, chair of Abortion Rights, they expressed concern at the closure and called for support for patients and staff. “It is surely the government’s responsibility, within the legal framework set by the Abortion Act 1967, to ensure access to safe, legal abortions for women, regardless of where they live.”

The letter’s authors say this principle is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which stipulates that states must “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to healthcare services, including those related to family planning.”

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) confirmed last week that an abortion services clinic had been forced to close “as a direct result of protest activity”. It has not named the clinic, but a second, in Southwark, south London, is also on “the brink” of closure due to security fears.

Abel said there was widespread concern that the closure would encourage the anti-abortion campaigners to escalate activities. The picketing of clinics with huge posters of bloodied medical procedures and foetuses has already become common. “They want to increase stigma,” said Abel, “and because they can’t win in parliament they want to whisper in women’s ears and frighten them with graphic and vindictive images.

“It’s unacceptable that perfectly legal medical services are being shut down because of a few bullies outside. But what’s worse is the government are standing by and letting it happen.”

She urged the public to sign the letter. “There needs to be action taken before things escalate,” she said, adding that “hotspots” of activity at clinics don’t seem to be showing up in a drop in the number of abortions, but may be pushing up the length of time before women have abortions by scaring them away until they really have no options.

BPAS, Abortion Rights and others are asking for “buffer zones” similar to those in Canada and France, so that lawful protests can go ahead without the intimidation of staff and women attending appointments. Clare Murphy of the BPAS said last week: “There’s no doubt that a small number of people who are against abortion are able to have a serious knock-on effect on women’s services. We know the police feel relatively powerless to do anything about this, as there’s nothing in law that means they can move them away.”

Surveys continue to show that most Britons are pro-choice, although split evenly over whether or not the current 24-week limit should be lowered.

A spokesperson from Abort67, which has faced criticism for its tactics during protests outside clinics, said: “We have been subject to a relentless campaign of false accusations about our behaviour. If the closure of an abortion facility is now being used as part of a parliamentary effort to introduce unnecessary restrictions on freedom of expression, then there needs to be transparency. We invite any politicians with concerns to come and visit one of our public education campaigns and to see what we are doing, rather than rely on hearsay.”