NICOLA Sturgeon has stated that she condemns in the “strongest possible terms” any attempts to intimidate women accessing abortion services.
She continued to state in a message to anti-choice protestors: “By all means protest, you have a democratic right to do that. But come and protest at Parliament. Do not intimidate women seeking access to abortion at hospitals.”
Sturgeon made these comments in response to a question from Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who asked whether the First Minister regretted “swift action” not being taken by the Scottish Government to create buffer zones around hospitals.
Lennon also quizzed whether tele-medicine for early abortion - which has been in effect since March 2020 in response to Covid-19 restrictions - would be made permanent in Scotland.
In response, Sturgeon stated that the Scottish Government would seek to accelerate the work of the buffer zones working group set up at the end of last year, but that there are “complex legal issues” to be considered.
READ MORE: Anti-abortion protesters target Glasgow's QEUH, prompting calls for action
Responding to the First Minister’s statement, campaign group Back Off Scotland - which is campaigning for buffer zones to be introduced outside abortion clinics - stated in a tweet: “Condemning doesn’t stop the harassment. We need [Women's Health Minister] Maree Todd to implement nationwide legislation now.”
Back Off Scotland also questioned why the Scottish Government was not coming forward with emergency legislation, criticising Todd’s proposals to research clinic protests until 2024.
They said that Todd is “expecting all those who need this healthcare to endure harassment for a bare minimum of another 18 months” while “they gather ‘evidence’ of what we can all see is happening".
Protests outside abortion clinics in Scotland have seen an increase over the past few months. Earlier in April, around 100 anti-choice protestors gathered outside the maternity unit entrance at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH), in a move some medical professions have described as “deplorable”.
READ MORE: Doctors urge Maree Todd to bring in buffer zones
Dr Audrey Brown, a sexual and reproductive consultant, stated at the time of the protests: “For people accessing abortion care, and the staff providing it, the presence of anti-choice activists at the entrance to clinics and hospitals is distressing and is a form of emotional harassment.
“These anti-choice protestors will further traumatise those who may be making a difficult decision. Whilst abortion care providers recognise the right to protest, this should not be at clinical sites, where individual patients and staff are harassed and intimidated."
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