NICOLA Sturgeon has condemned pro-life campaigners for protesting at clinics providing abortion care in Scotland.

The First Minister said people had a right to demonstrate but should do so outside the Scottish Parliament rather than outside hospitals.

"I condemn and I do so in the strongly possible terms any attempts to intimidate women as they chose to access abortion services," she told MSPs today at First Minister's Questions.

"People have the right to protest against abortion but they should do that outside parliament where the laws are made. They should not do that outside a hospital where women are undergoing abortions and of course experiencing often as they do so extreme distress."

She went on to say a government working group looking at how buffer zones (where protesters cannot gather) can be introduced outside hospitals and said there were complex legal issues involved.

The First Minister added that any approach taken needed to be consistent with the law.

"The minister is committed to seeing if that work can be accelerated," she added.

Earlier today the Scottish Government was urged to “urgently intervene” and introduce protest free “buffer zones”.

The call was made by Scottish Labour MSP Katy Clark who will press the Scottish Government on the matter in Holyrood this afternoon.

Her plea follow a protest by 100 anti-choice activists outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital’s maternity unit in Glasgow last week.

The demonstration prompted a total of 76 consultants there to call on women's health minister Maree Todd to "show courage" and introduce protest-free "buffer zones" across all clinics following a surge in protests from pro-life groups. 

While the protests are aimed at women accessing abortion services, the doctors' letter highlighted the impact the demonstrations having on medical staff and their patients, calling the "harassment" "deplorable".

Ms Clark, the West Scotland MSP, said she has repeatedly raised the issue with Ms Todd, who has claimed local authorities can use by laws to introduce buffer zones.

However, last year Ms Clark pointed to legal advice from Cosla which warned that such an approach could lead to a “postcode lottery” in which some areas have buffer zones and others not.o

“In November, the Scottish Government said it would take urgent action on this issue, but nothing has been done and these demonstrations are ongoing," she said.

“No one is disputing people’s right to protest, but targeted harassment at clinics deters women from accessing healthcare. That is patently wrong.
“Buffer zones would stop this by banning activities that prevent women from accessing abortion care within 150m of the entrance to a clinic or hospital, as campaigners have called for."
She added: “The Scottish Government is responsible for the National Health Service and this is a national issue. Ministers must urgently intervene – we need Scotland-wide legislation for women now.”

Buffer zones are already in place in Northern Ireland, Spain, Canada, Australia, and parts of England and the USA.

Dr Greg Irwin, lead signatory and Consultant Paediatric Radiologist at the QEUH, said last week: “We, as consultants in the children’s and the maternity hospitals, are seriously concerned about the anti-abortion protests occurring outside the QEUH.

"We know first-hand how distressing this harassment is for our patients, which makes it infuriating for us as clinical staff to have to pass these groups day-in-day-out.“The protesters on Hardgate Road are as close as they can get to the maternity unit, meaning that our patients in the wards can see and hear them. These women may well be feeling vulnerable and upset.

"They should not have to put up with judgement or intimidation outside our hospital. Implementing buffer zones is essential to deal with this problem."

Student-run campaign Back Off Scotland has been calling for the implementation of 150m buffer zones since October 2020.

Following commitments in the SNP manifesto for the Holyrood elections last year, the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan, and the Programme for Government 2021/22, the group has criticised Todd for not implementing the zones.

Responding to the doctors' letter last week, 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 [Scottish Greens] 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, Police Scotland and affected councils and health boards to look at how to address the vigils and protests that take place outside abortion clinics.”