Parents going through some of the most "horrendous" experiences of their lives can hear anti-abortion protesters holding vigils outside medical centres in Scotland.
MSP Gillian Mackay told the Scottish Parliament that families of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow have had to listen to "prayer vigils" taking place outside. Ms Mackay's The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill would create a 200-metre buffer zone outside 30 hospitals and clinics in Scotland.
The legislation has already been backed by the Scottish Government, with the Bill also having cross-party support at Holyrood. Holyrood’s Health Committee took evidence from Ms Mackay and Public Health Minister Jenni Minto on Tuesday.
Ms Mackay said: "Clinicians who work at the QEUH who work within neonatal intensive care said that these protests can be heard within the unit. That is horrendous for these parents who are going through some of the worst times of their lives.
"The audible protest at Sandyford could be heard within the variety of very sensitive services that are delivered there. There was a real impact on staff as well as on patients within those settings.
"The legislation would allow for anywhere other than 200m around 30 premises in Scotland for people to do what they want. People have the right to access healthcare and people also have the right to have their views known. The balance is being able to provide those services with an exclusion area and people being able to make their views known elsewhere."
Committee member Ruth Maguire then questioned if it was possible in law to protect citizens from silent judgement.
Ms Mackay continued: "What we’re protecting individuals in society from is the intent of causing alarm, distress and impeding access. Silent prayer is a form of vigil, protest that is impacting on women attending abortion clinics.
Referring to a 200m buffer zone, she added: "It is a relatively proportionate impact, given the impact the committee has heard both in evidence and in private of the very disproportionate impact on people accessing service. There are also other services that are impacted at certain sites by these protests."
Ms Mackay also highlighted a "scary" level of medical misinformation in anti-abortion leaflets that were being distributed by campaigners during protests.
She said: "I think the level of misinformation in some of these leaflets is quite scary."
The committee previously heard from medics who said anti-abortion groups were using scare-mongering tactics like telling women abortions could lead to breast cancer. On the issue of silent prayer, Ms Mackay said police engagement with protestors would continue as and when demonstrations take place.
If the bill is passed, officers from Police Scotland will receive training on measures that they can and cannot take.
When asked how officers will be supported to act, Jenni Minto, Minister for Public Health and Women's Health said: "Police Scotland will provide training for their members. It is a tricky area and we have to make sure we get it right. The important thing is that, as I have said before, is ensuring women who are accessing these services can do it safely and can do it without impediment, alarm or distress."
Ms Mackay added: “I accept that many of the people who participate in anti-abortion activity outside hospitals do not believe their actions make it harder for women to access healthcare – that, in fact, they believe they help women. Without being too blunt, those beliefs do not change the reality that some women find their activities distressing and alarming.”
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Several abortion service facilities across the country have been repeatedly targeted by groups including 40 Days for Life in the last few years. The organisation, who say they have a network of 'several hundred' volunteers in Scotland, were seen targeting women in Glasgow this month.
Protestors were seen reciting prayers and clutching rosary beads outside the maternity unit of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. The group is thought to be spearheaded by activist Rose Docherty, from Bishopbriggs.
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