Judges reject appeal over ban on abortion clinic protests
Campaigners have lost a Court of Appeal challenge against the country’s first protest-free “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic.
Three leading judges dismissed an appeal against an earlier ruling that restrictions imposed by Ealing Council in west London on protests outside a Marie Stopes clinic were “justified”.
The authority was the first to create a buffer zone in April 2018 following demonstrations.
It imposed the public spaces protection order (PSPO) following reports of “intimidation, harassment and distress” for women using the facility in Mattock Lane, Ealing.
It's been one year since the buffer zone was enacted around our West London Centre in Ealing! Thank you to @RupaHuq, @EalingCouncil and @SisterSupporter. Now, women who visit our West London Centre no longer face intimidation and harassment. #EalingMakesHistory#BackOff
— Marie Stopes International (@MarieStopes) April 23, 2019
Alina Dulgheriu and Andrea Orthova, who regularly attend a vigil run by the Good Counsel Network (GCN), mounted a legal challenge at the Court of Appeal in a bid to overturn the ban on protests directly outside the clinic.
It was argued on their behalf that the ban interferes with their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief and freedom of assembly and association.
They also said the council was wrong to use a PSPO because the orders were designed to protect local residents from anti-social behaviour, and clinic users were “one-off or occasional” visitors to the area.
The Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton, Lady Justice King and Lady Justice Nicola Davies unanimously dismissed their appeal on Wednesday, upholding an earlier decision in favour of Ealing by the High Court.
A lawyer representing the women during an appeal hearing in July said many of the allegations made against protesters in evidence gathered by the council during a consultation exercise were “strongly disputed” by the women, GCN and other anti-abortion groups.
Ealing Council argued the buffer zone should remain and said some users of the clinic who had abortions many years ago are still “significantly affected by their encounters with the activists”.
The authority’s QC said the council received a petition signed by more than 3,500 people urging it to take action.
