An extensive buffer zone is being put in place around a clinic in Dorset in order to prevent anti-abortion campaigners harassing service users and staff.
The zone will cover six streets around the British Pregnancy Advice Service clinic in Bournemouth and will be in force for 12 hours a day, five days a week for the next three years.
Anyone caught protesting, harassing, intimidating or photographing visitors or staff could incur a fixed penalty notice of £100 or be liable for conviction at a magistrates court.
Women have complained of being followed into the clinic or accosted when they leave. They have reported being told “the baby loves them” or asked whether they know they “murder babies” inside the building.
One worker told the Guardian she has witnessed “many distressed clients”, including one who injured herself trying to climb a wall to avoid walking past the protesters.
In another serious incident, an individual dressed in a monk’s cassock followed a staff member along the street in the dark while recording her.
One service user said: “It was really intimidating. You’re in a really vulnerable situation and you have all these people shouting at you and saying you’re going to hell.”
Source: The Guardian, 11 October 2022
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