Rupa Huq grew up in Ealing, a leafy borough on the outer edges of west London. In the 90s, she became aware of anti-abortion protests taking place outside a Marie Stopes clinic in the area. Decades later, the demonstrations – which were specifically designed to dissuade women from having abortions – were still going on.

When Huq was voted in as Ealing’s new Labour MP in 2015, she knew she wanted to try and put a stop to these protests. Three years after she took office, Ealing Council created a ‘safe zone’ around the clinic using a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), effectively blocking protesters from gathering within 100 metres of the building.

But while people can now access the clinic in Ealing without being followed, harassed or intimidated by anti-choice protesters, the same cannot be said for women visiting clinics in other constituencies. So now, Huq has introduced a cross-party bill to parliament that would create buffer zones around all abortion clinics in England and Wales.

MPs just voted overwhelmingly in favour of banning protests outside abortion clinics