Anti-abortion campaigners could be banned from protesting outside a clinic that carries out terminations.
A Public Spaces Protection Order will be considered by Ealing Council in London to move protesters away from a Marie Stopes centre in the area.
The orders have been used to tackle begging and street drinking, but it is thought this would be the first time one has been used to stop a public protest.
Ealing Council is considering a Public Spaces Protection Order that would stop anti-abortion campaigners protesting outside a Marie Stopes centre. But there are fears it could curtail the freedom to protest. Pictured: The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children in London
It comes amid an increase in demonstrations outside abortion clinics, and there are fears it could set a precedent to limit campaigners’ freedom to protest.
The council will debate the move tomorrow after receiving a petition with more than 3,500 signatures from the pro-choice group Sister Supporter demanding action to stop anti-abortion campaigners protesting six days a week.
The group said the ‘sustained intimidation’ caused great distress to patients and others living and working in the area.
Women attending the clinic are regularly met by groups of protesters who distribute graphic images and models of dismembered foetuses.
Pro-life groups say they are trying to show women there are other options but pro-choice groups say increasingly aggressive tactics, typically seen in the US, have left women in tears.
Others have decided not to enter the clinic after facing a barrage of abuse, or missed appointments because they were too frightened to walk past protesters.
Labour councillor Binda Rai’s motion says it is ‘explicitly not one for or against abortion… [but] seeks to protect the rights of individuals from harassment and intimidation when accessing legally existing health services and of local residents not to be exposed to related disruption and distress on a daily basis’.
But Good Counsel Network, a Roman Catholic group that holds vigils outside clinics including the one in Ealing, pledged to carry on protesting further down the road.
It said campaigners also faced harassment by members of Sister Supporter who have been holding counter-demonstrations outside the centre. The group’s Clare McCullough claimed they had to request a police presence on Saturdays to stop ‘intimidation by Sister Supporter’.
Dr Marie Stopes was a pioneer in the field of birth control, but one of the centres named after her in west London has become a target for protesters
Mrs McCullough said: ‘We’ve been holding vigils in Ealing for 23 years and no one has ever been charged with harassment. We will continue to do what we do, just further down the road.
‘Harassment is a crime. If we were harassing anyone we would be arrested. In fact, what we’re trying to do is help women to have an alternative, if they’re willing to accept it.’
John Hansen-Brevetti, clinical operations manager at the Ealing centre, said other Marie Stopes clinics had reported an increase in protests that were taking on a more aggressive tone. He told The Observer the harassment had now crossed a line and was endangering women’s safety.
Anna Veglio-White, from Sister Supporter, told the newspaper: ‘We’re hoping Ealing sets a precedent to stop the growing harassment of women using abortion services. What happens here could start a domino effect for other councils to follow.’