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.

Why safe access zones are so vital for abortion care