Within weeks, legislation is expected to be signed into law that will transform access to sexual and reproductive healthcare across England and Wales. The amendment, introduced by Stella Creasy MP, driven through the House of Lords by Baroness Liz Sugg and backed by parliamentarians across all major political parties, will prevent anti-choice groups from standing any closer than 150 metres from abortion clinics. For me, working in a clinic in Brixton, south London, this will be revolutionary.

For years now, clinics have been targeted by anti-choice groups whose aim is to intimidate, stigmatise and harass. In extreme cases, their actions can even delay time-sensitive healthcare procedures, with some clients rebooking their appointments for another day because they don’t want to face harassment. Delaying abortion care is no small issue. Every abortion we provide is safe, but the earlier it happens, the more treatment options are available – and unlike other medical care, there’s a strict cut-off at 24 weeks (or longer in exceptional circumstances), at which point care becomes a criminal offence.

Anti-choice groups approach anyone entering the clinic or even those who are just passing by. They hold up provocative posters, thrust models of foetuses in front of people and hand out leaflets with emotionally manipulative misinformation, even claiming that abortion can give you breast cancer (which it can’t). On occasion, they have been known to record or photograph people entering the clinic. This adds to the stigma that is still felt by many around abortion, creating a spectacle of public shaming that can be really upsetting at a time when clients are looking for support around their choice. Essentially, they’re leaving our clients feeling attacked, angry and judged over a decision that is nobody else’s business. This can be particularly distressing for survivors of sexual violence and young people who are already navigating an incredibly emotional situation. 

Choosing to have an abortion can be a difficult decision. There are many factors at play and none of them are known by the anti-choice groups harassing them outside. It’s entirely unfair that anyone has to go through this to access essential healthcare.

In 2018, after years of this activity building and becoming unbearable, the first safe access zone was introduced around MSI Reproductive Choices’ clinic in Ealing, west London. The work of Sister Supporter, a grassroots organisation founded by a local resident to protect those accessing care from anti-choice groups, was critical. Together with MSI Reproductive Choices, the UK’s leading abortion provider, the BackOff campaign, and backed by local MP Rupa Huq, who has been fighting for legislation to protect clinics for years, they collected signatures from local people who wanted to introduce a safe access zone, testimonials from clients and invited officials from the council to see the activity first-hand. The sheer weight of this evidence led the council to vote unanimously in favour of implementing a public spaces protection order (PSPO) around the clinic.

While this was a positive step, there was still a postcode lottery for those accessing care, with safe access zones protecting some clinics but not others. 

Although the decision to overturn Roe v Wade in June last year happened thousands of miles away, its effect has been felt strongly here in the UK. Before this, anti-choice groups would primarily be active throughout Lent and during September –  two key periods in which 40 Days for Life, a US-based anti-choice group, would act. This naturally still affected our clients, the community and those working at the clinic, but the activities of anti-choice groups have dramatically intensified since the supreme court decision last year.

Now, they are regularly showing up outside our clinic. In the last few months, this has become a daily occurrence. They are present all day long, have become bolder in their actions and hound everyone that walks by. 

Our local MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, visited our clinic late last year. She had heard concerns from the community about the actions of anti-choice groups and local people were shocked at how little could be done to prevent the injustices that they were witnessing every day.

Due to the rapid surge in anti-choice activity, the need for safe access zones has become more urgent than ever. Even before the recent increase, around 2,000 women a week were attending a clinic that has faced harassment outside. Existing laws were simply not good enough. For a start, addressing individual behaviours often involves making a police report when most people who come to us just want to access essential healthcare; they don’t want to relive their experience of harassment at the same time.

With national legislation, the police will be better equipped to protect clinics, and our teams will know there are clear police powers that can be called upon and that they and our clients will be protected. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, similar solutions are in progress and in place respectively. Soon, everyone across the UK will be able to access this essential form of healthcare free from harassment.

While we have long advocated for this legislation to be introduced, we know that it doesn’t mean that anti-choice groups will give up and go away. As we’ve seen at clinics with safe access zones in place, anti-choice groups are still able to shout through megaphones to disturb people, misinformation continues to increase online, and unregulated crisis pregnancy centres across the country are still promoting dangerous misinformation.

Safe access zones will protect people from the physical presence of anti-choice groups. But to finally put a stop to this activity, we need to end the stigma around abortion and create a country that is safe for everyone to make their own choice about their future.

Angela Jones is a clinical services matron at MSI Reproductive Choices UK

Main image: Getty