Secretary of State for the Home Department (): People in this country
have a wide range of views on abortion. All viewpoints are legal
to hold, and it is important that, as a nation, we are tolerant
and respectful of others’ viewpoints. Indeed, it is a cornerstone
of our democracy that people are free to gather and express their
views, however uncomfortable they may be to others.
The Government has always been clear that rights to protest do
not extend to the intimidation or harassment of others. Where
protests do amount to that, we expect the police and local
authorities to use their powers to deal with such cases.
The debates during the passage of the Public Order Act 2023
showed that many people have firmly held - but opposing - views
about the merits of limiting the right to protest in order to
enable women to freely access abortion services. There were
concerns that the right to protest, freedom of expression and
religious belief were being unjustifiably constrained. Meanwhile,
others argued with equal passion that women accessing abortion
services deserved greater protection from harassing or
intimidatory protest.
After considering the debates, the Houses of Parliament voted to
introduce legislation to prohibit certain activities within 150
metres of an abortion clinic or a hospital that provides abortion
services (“Safe Access Zones”).
The Government respects the will of Parliament, and we anticipate
commencing Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 no later than
Spring 2024.[1]
We have considered what needs to be done to ensure that Safe
Access Zones can be implemented as effectively as possible, with
law enforcement agencies having a clear and consistent
understanding around enforcement, and abortion service providers
and protestors being clear as to what is expected under the new
law.
We believe the best way to do this would be through publishing
non-statutory guidance prior to the commencement of Section 9.
I recognise that this is new legislation, on an emotive topic,
with strong views on all sides of the debate and that determining
the appropriate balance between competing interests will not
always be straightforward. The Government has therefore decided
to launch a public consultation on the non-statutory guidance for
Safe Access Zones and welcomes responses from all interested
parties. Running a public consultation will help ensure that we
produce guidance that reflects the policy intention of Parliament
and provides a workable enforcement policy.
The public consultation will run for six weeks until 22 January
2024. A copy of the consultation will be placed in the Libraries
of both Houses and published on GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).
As Home Secretary, I am committed to ensuring that women in
England and Wales feel safe and protected whilst exercising their
legal right to access abortion services and I am optimistic that
this Government will facilitate the effective introduction of
Safe Access Zones.
I thank Members across this House for their engagement on this
issue.
[1] Abortion Clinics: Safe Access
Zones - Hansard - UK Parliament
