A PATIENT said he had been forced to act in support of others accessing a Glasgow healthcare facility as anti-abortion preachers again demonstrated outside.
In the second time the Sandyford has been targeted, two preachers stood outside the NHS clinic with signs reading "Babies are murdered here".
But counter protesters, including one who had been at the centre for treatment, challenged the two preachers.
Asking to remain anonymous, he said he had been at the Sandyford two weeks ago to have blood drawn but was too distressed by the preachers to have the procedure.
When he returned this afternoon, the two men with signs were back outside the clinic.
He said: "I was too tense to have the blood taken because as soon as I got to the door a man said, 'Ma'am, please don't murder your baby'.
READ MORE: Roe vs Wade abortion rights battle is happening in Scotland too
"And then I shouted back and they started saying 'God is good and you're bad in your heart'.
"I know that people go in there for vulnerable reasons, private reasons, and I know that when I got out of the cab and they immediately shouted at me it made me uncomfortable, targeted, angry, harassed and there's people going in there that that's going to hit a lot harder than me.
"If people do need to get an abortion or want to get an abortion then they should be able to do that in a dignified and respected way, not with hassle from two men.
"It is very unpleasant so I just wanted to be a countering voice so that people who are going in there know it's not just them or these men."
The patient said he had spoken to others inside who said they had been glad of the support and distraction.
Other counter-protesters had been playing loud music to drown out the noise from the street.
The issue of religious vigils outside hospitals and the Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow has been an increasingly prominent topic in recent weeks.
Legislation is currently being discussed that would create buffer zones around facilities where abortions are provided to give protection from such protests.
The patient added: "Two weeks ago there was someone dealing with a miscarriage who was having palpitations and had to go home.
"I really do think [buffer zones] will make a difference.
"It's one thing to know vaguely there's protesters around the corner and another thing to be accosted on the doorstep.
"They can have their freedom to preach but it doesn't have to be in the faces of people that are at a vulnerable moment."
READ MORE: Battle for buffer zones outside Scottish clinics has historical echoes
The two preachers outside the Sandyford insisted to the Glasgow Times they are not protesting or campaigning but are motived by "love to warn the mothers and for the sake of the children who are being killed."
Both men asked to remain anonymous but one said he had saved by Jesus at the age of 40 having "lived a life of crime".
He said: "I have been in every court in Glasgow and nearly every prison in Scotland but now I'm saved, I'm new and I've got a love in my heart for righteousness that only God can give.
"We come here out of love and we get called everything, we get falsely accused, but we do it because we love them.
"We don't call the authorities, we suffer it because Christ suffered and so we suffered it."
The other added: "We are not protesting, we are preaching the word of God.
"There's a big difference. We are not campaigners.
"We want to see people's hearts changed. That's the only thing that will stop abortion.
"Changes to legislation is not our priority, it's to see hearts changed."
Another counter-protester, Beth Douglas, said she had joined the demonstration outside the Sandyford as a trans woman because it was an issue affecting multi-communities.
She said: "It's a basic issue of body autonomy.
"As a trans person this matters as much to me as to cis women so I think it's very important that trans people, the wider LGBT community, as well as the feminist movement comes out here and combats religious bigots getting in the way of people accessing healthcare.
"Yes, at the end of the day Sandyford does offer abortion services but also STI checks for LGBT people and sex workers, menopause services, there's a gender clinic as well, so there's a lot of people they are harassing and making feel uncomfortable and this is just a basic right to healthcare they are trying to encroach on and take away from other people.
"So that needs to be combated and shown the door."
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