One of the beauties of living in modern Australia is that women are allowed to exercise choice over their bodies and reproduction, and aren’t forced into dangerous backyard abortion procedures. Abortion is a safe, common, and legal procedure.
Try telling that to the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants (vom), who have been protesting outside an East Melbourne abortion clinic for over two decades, trying to stop women from doing just that: exercising their right to terminate a pregnancy.
Melbourne abortion clinic takes council to court to stop protesters (http://t.co/9XGnqasV51) http://t.co/wPthXHGYCi pic.twitter.com/dI2WxYeP39
— 1001pts Australia (@1001ptsAU) June 2, 2015
The group has been outside the abortion clinic for the past 25 to 28 years, the Fertility Control Clinic confirmed. In that time they’ve harassed, upset, and intimidated female patients and staff, and although it hasn’t led to violence from the group, people walking past on the street have “gotten upset” with the protesters themselves.
The clinic has tried every measure to deal with the issue, including complaints to Melbourne City Council and liaising with local police, but their efforts thus far have proved futile.
So now they’re taking the council to the Supreme Court.
“Unfortunately [previous] complaints have been rejected by the Melbourne City Council,” said lawyer Lizzie O’Shea to ABC. “We think it’s important to clarify in law what their duties are.”
“We’d prefer not to be litigating, that’s for sure, but we feel disappointed [that] Melbourne City Council hasn’t done what we think they’re required to do at law to deal with this problem.”
Abortion is a legal medical procedure in Victoria, allowing the termination of a pregnancy up to 24 weeks. According to reports, up to one in three women will have the procedure done in their lifetime. It’s also one of the safest and most commonly performed medical procedures in Australia.
People have every right to their anti-abortion views. What they don’t have is the right to inflict that view in harassment of others.
via ABC.
