The battle for abortion buffer zones

In the UK, protests outside clinics or hospitals that perform abortions are, theoretically, banned within a 150-metre "buffer zone". But the legislation has yet to be enforced in England and Wales, and draft guidance published by the last government controversially made allowances for silent prayer within the so-called "safe access zones". 

Now, the Home Office is considering reviewing the guidance, reported The Daily Telegraph. Ministers will also review a provision which allows for "consensual" communication with those entering or leaving the premises, which protesters have "interpreted" as permission to hand out leaflets or talk to patients. Abortion rights activists and healthcare providers hope the review will result in both activities being banned as part of Labour's commitment to finally enforce the buffer zones. 

What are buffer zones?

In October 2022, MPs voted in favour of an amendment to the Public Order Act to introduce buffer zones around abortion clinics in England and Wales, based on existing legislation in Australia and Canada. The law, which was passed in May 2023, also bans protesters from harassing women or showing them pictures of foetuses. 

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The law was designed to stop people "handing out false medical information in leaflets, or standing at the clinic gate with rosary beads and candles", said Rachael Clarke, chief of staff at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) charity. These activities are clearly "designed to influence women's reproductive choices", she told The Telegraph. 

Campaigners at the time argued that the law would protect both staff and patients; anti-abortion groups countered that it would undermine freedom of expression. Similar measures were implemented in Northern Ireland in autumn 2023, which the Supreme Court ruled did not "disproportionately interfere" with protesters' rights – though several parts of the region "have yet to see its effects", said Cosmopolitan.

In June this year, MSPs voted in favour of a similar bill, which would prevent protests within 200 metres of abortion providers in Scotland. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill, tabled by Scottish Green's Gillian Mackay, passed by 118 votes to one. 

What is the controversial draft guidance?

In 2023, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested for praying silently outside a Bpas clinic in Birmingham, which had already been designated a buffer zone. Police released her without charge, but Vaughan-Spruce claimed she had been targeted for a "thought crime" infringing on her freedom of religion.

After a long consultation period, draft guidance published by the Home Office in December 2023 said that praying within a buffer zone should "not automatically be seen as unlawful". Silent prayer is protected under the Human Rights Act 1998 and should not "be considered to be an offence under any circumstances", it said.

The provisions in the draft guidance led to accusations that the Home Office was "watering down" the law, said The Guardian. "We specifically voted against proposals to allow silent prayer and consensual communication in safe access zones," said policing minister Diana Johnson in The Telegraph, questioning then home secretary James Cleverly in January. Allowing for it in the guidance was demonstrably "not the will of Parliament".

What effect has the delay had?

Final guidance was due to be published and buffer zones implemented "no later than spring 2024" – but was not completed before the election was called.

In light of the government's perceived "failure" to act, anti-abortion activists began "ramping up protests outside clinics", the UK's leading abortion provider MSI Reproductive Choices told The Independent in May. "They have increased activity in the last year," Olivia Home, who manages one of the MSI clinics in London, told the paper. "I look out of the office sometimes and they give you a sinister grin," she said.

Some local authorities have already put their own measures in place. After reports of "alarm and distress", Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council introduced a temporary buffer zone around a Bpas clinic in which praying and sprinkling holy water were banned, said BBC South. "I was chased to my car, being called a murderer," said Emmie Isaac, a clinical nurse manager. The safe zone has "reduced that underlying tone of worry all of the time".

What will Labour do?

In July, campaigners and groups including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, urging the government to implement buffer zones as "a matter of urgency". Both patients and medical practitioners "continue to be routinely harassed", the letter said.

Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, confirmed this month that Labour would implement buffer zones "imminently". "It is vital anyone exercising their legal right to access abortion services are free from harassment and intimidation," Labour said.

In its current form, the guidance would "create major loopholes" for protesters, Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices told The Telegraph. But "we are cautiously optimistic" that Cooper, who voted against allowing silent prayer while she was in opposition, and "fierce reproductive rights advocates" Phillips and Johnson "recognise the dangers" and will implement "what elected MPs voted for".