Scottish Government will not support blanket ban on abortion protests

Women's Health Minister Maree Todd

Legislation banning all protests and vigils within the immediate vicinity of abortion clinics in Scotland will not be supported by the Scottish Government, the Minister for Women’s Health has confirmed.

Campaigners have been vying for so-called ‘buffer zones’ outside all buildings where abortions take place, but Minister Maree Todd MSP believes decisions should be left to local authorities.

Addressing Holyrood last week, Ms Todd said The Scottish Government “does not feel that a national ban is an option”, arguing that action must be “proportionate” and in line with the rights of protesters.

She added: “The Scottish Government does not consider that imposing blanket buffer zones around all abortion clinics would be appropriate”.

Green MSP Gillian Mackay has pledged to bring forward member’s legislation for an outright ban, putting the Scottish Government at odds with the Greens, their partners under a power-sharing agreement announced after the May election.

Ms Mackay looks set to gain support across the chamber but without support from the SNP, Holyrood’s largest party, she would be unable to get it across the line.

During a debate on the issue last week, Christian MSP John Mason defended the right for peaceful protestors to voice their opposition to abortion.

Mr Mason said he believes life begins at conception and argued that “someone has a duty to speak up for the baby, who has no voice”.

The MSP defended an event he had attended in Glasgow last year where “perhaps a dozen people” gathered and “much of the time was spent quietly saying prayers”.