VIC Sex Party MP Fiona Patten has introduced a bill to State Parliament that could create ‘buffer zones’ around Victorian reproductive health clinics.
These buffer zones would stop anti-abortion – or as they like to call themselves to sound nicer, “pro-life” – protestors from coming within a certain distance of the clinics, and therefore stop them from harassing the women who walk in or out.
Patten said women had experienced disgraceful things from the protestors:
“This weekend they were yelling to people attending a clinic, ‘you are going into a slaughterhouse’. They film and photograph people to try and intimidate them, to try and intrude on their privacy.”
And it’s unfortunately true – protestors outside Australian abortion clinics are often abusive and threatening to women who are often making a difficult choice, or are emotionally vulnerable. (And even if they aren’t struggling emotionally, they don’t deserve to be harassed). Staff regularly have to escort women past protestors, to shield women from the yelling and intimidation.
Not to mention that many women attend reproductive health clinics for reasons other than terminations too, but are still regularly abused.
Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle has previously supported protest exclusion zones around reproductive clinics, and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said that the Liberal Party would have a discussion about whether they would allow a conscience vote on the issue:
“My personal view is that people shouldn’t be heckled or hindered in any approach to those clinics, I think that’s pretty reasonable and if it needs an exclusion zone to do that, shadow cabinet will have a debate about whether we would support that.”
According to the ABC, anti-abortion groups have now said that any attempt to install the buffer zones would impede on their freedom of speech, and right to protest.
Unfortunately they seem to have ignored the fact that their speech isn’t being taken away, and neither is their right to protest – they can still spout their hateful bollocks, they’ll just have to fuck off down the road a bit.
via ABC
