Home secretary Amber Rudd has asked “interested parties” to have their say on pro-life vigils outside abortion clinics as part of a Government consultation.
The Home Office has launched a review into alleged “harassment” by pro-lifers outside abortion clinics. It is considering whether new powers are needed to protect people going to a clinic or working there.
The review, announced in November, initially sought views only from police forces, healthcare providers and local authorities.
But the Home Secretary has now widened the consultation to include “protesters” – people taking part in the vigils – as well as those who have “sought medical opinion or advice” from the clinics.
The Society for the Protection of the Unborn has urged all pro-lifers who have taken part in the vigils to share their experiences with the Home Office in order to influence the inquiry.
The deadline for contributions from the public is February 19. The survey can be accessed at www.homeofficesurveys.
Ms Rudd said: “An abortion is an incredibly personal decision for anyone to take, and so it is completely unacceptable for women to face harassment or intimidation for exercising their legal right to healthcare advice and treatment.
“While everyone has a right to peaceful protest, this review is about ensuring the police, healthcare providers and local authorities have the right powers to protect women making these tough decisions.”
Ealing Council in west London, meanwhile, has launched a separate consultation on whether a Public Spaces Protection Order should be imposed to stop pro-life vigils outside a clinic there.
Priest angry at ‘callous’ fine while on visit to sick patient
A priest has criticised hospital parking authorities after being fined while on an emergency visit to a sick patient.
Fr Paul Fox of Our Lady of Ransom, in Rayleigh, Essex, told the BBC he had put a note on his windscreen saying he was a Catholic priest on an emergency call but returned to discover he had been fined £40.
His appeal against the decision was later rejected.
Fr Fox said the penalty showed “how callous and cold some people can be”.
He said: “I feel quite angry in a way because you’re trying to do God’s work and bring God’s mercy and love and compassion to people. And someone out there decides to fine you and doesn’t even listen when you try to put your case to them.”
He had, he said, been “going to see a parishioner who was quite unwell at the time, [to give the] sacraments and so on and talk to him and talk to the family”.
The parking authorities, he said, “just don’t seem to care that this is a Catholic priest trying to do a work of mercy”.
Southend Hospital told BBC Radio Essex that it was seeking to resolve the matter with Fr Fox.
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