I've helped people get abortions for 20 years: Safe access zones are not enough and miss the point

31 October 2024, 12:50

As of today, people going to clinics in England and Wales will be able to do so without having to pass by protesters holding vigil with foetus placards and rosaries.

Or they will, but the people will be 150 meters away. The police will determine on a case-by-case basis whether or not someone “praying silently” outside of an abortion clinic is breaking the law.

As someone who has been helping people get abortions for more than 20 years in the UK, the US and across wider Europe with Supporting Abortions for Everyone (S.A.F.E), I can’t get excited about safe access zones. These bills both miss the point and give too much power to a small minority of people.

This is not the US. Protestors here, while annoying and intimidating, are not violent or dangerous. And a handful of people outside a clinic is not a majority. Making laws about them gives them too much power – and sets a dangerous precedent about protest in general.

Does this mean I think protestors should be allowed? Absolutely not. But safe access zones are the icing, and we still need to bake the cake.

The World Health Organization says abortion should be treated as healthcare and fully decriminalized. Yet, we do not do this. We have abortion in the criminal code, have put women on trial for self-managing their abortions, and most importantly to this issue, treat abortion as “separate” from other healthcare. If we treated abortion as healthcare and mainstreamed it within all clinics and hospitals, there would be too many places to protest outside, eliminating the need for these zones.

Abortion is also not consistently available across the whole of the UK. Many people need to travel large distances, or in the case of people in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all the way to England, to access abortion care, especially after the first trimester. For me, making abortion healthcare and not a crime is far more important than a few people with nothing better to do with their time than standing outside a clinic.

This includes making sure abortion is available across the UK and putting an end to criminal prosecutions for women who self-manage their abortions.

________________

Mara Clarke started the first abortion fund in Europe and is currently the co-founder of Supporting Abortions for Everyone. She has been helping people access abortions in the UK, the US and across Europe for more than 20 years.

LBC Views provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us email views@lbc.co.uk