Abortion ‘buffer zones’ Bill submitted to Holyrood

A Bill to impose censorship zones around abortion clinics in Scotland has been submitted to the Scottish Parliament.

Green Party MSP Gillian Mackay is seeking to create 150m buffer zones around hospitals and other abortion centres.

During First Minister’s Questions, Humza Yousaf guaranteed his government’s support for the Bill. The first vote is expected in October.

Serious concerns

Last year, City Councils in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen announced their willingness to test bans on people handing out pro-life literature, offering prayer, and speaking to women about abortion.

At the time, Aidan O’Neill KC said: “There is no doubt that the creation of buffer zones which seek to exclude protests or people assembling in otherwise public spaces in principle engages the protesters’ human rights”.

The Christian Institute’s Scotland Officer Nigel Kenny, said: “Imposing buffer zones silences those who peacefully offer women compassionate alternatives to abortion.

“It denies women the opportunity to consider other responses to a crisis pregnancy that are less harmful to themselves and their baby.”

Rise in abortions

New data from Public Health Scotland showed that the total number of abortions in Scotland rose by almost a fifth in 2022.

The number of babies aborted because of Down’s syndrome also went up from 32 in 2021 to 59.