Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are a number of areas of consideration raised by the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023. On one hand, we have people who wish to exercise their freedom to protest. Within that, are freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom of expression. On the other hand, we have a legal, healthcare service, the right to avail of that healthcare and also to the ability to safely provide this service. It is a balance of proportionality. I will fiercely protect the right to protest. It is a cornerstone of democratic society and a freedom we must all hold in deep regard. However, we live in complex and dynamic societies and communities. Within that, as we have seen time and time again in our courts, sometimes rights will compete. It is then the job of the judicial system or the Legislature to ensure that proportionality is applied in order that a balance may be struck. This Bill represents an attempt to do that.

As outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights guide to the freedom to protest, any interference with the right to freedom of association must pursue at least one of the legitimate aims set out in Article 11.2 of the convention, namely, national security or public safety, the prevention of disorder or crime, the protection of health and the protection of the rights and

freedoms of others. A trial was conducted at a London clinic.

A safe access zone was implemented in a particular area where protests had been taking place. The results of the trial showed that implementing the safe zone had a positive impact. Where the staff had previously felt threatened and unsafe, this was alleviated. Similar results were reported by those accessing services.

We know from multiple reports that anti-choice protests outside of abortion service providers have a very negative impact on both the safe provision of the services and the well-being of those who need to avail of them. In 2019, the English Court of Appeal in Dulgheriu v. Ealing LBC further held that a safe access zone was a proportionate measure when balanced against the right of protesters to manifest their beliefs. In particular, the Court of Appeal referred to the “significant emotional and psychological damage” endured by clinic users who had been exposed to the demonstrations. Therefore, we can see that safe access zones are a proportionate and tested measure. Given that, according to the European Convention on Human Rights in cases such as Semir Güzel v. Turkey, in order for interference with the right to protest to be allowed, it must be prescribed by law. If we are all in agreement that safe zones are necessary to allow for the safe and accessible provision of abortion services as legal health care, then it is vital that this Bill comes into effect.

We must still address the issue of why we need safe zones. We can write our laws ethically but this must not be conflated with morality. The stigma that surrounds abortion stems largely from religious beliefs and religious indoctrination within our society. The Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Care Study published in 2022 refers to the legacy of stigma in Ireland in relation to abortion and the negative effect this has in terms of the provision of services. A separate 2021 study found that Irish providers also experience considerable stigma. This stigma is unfounded and dangerous. It stems from personal religious beliefs that have been allowed to hold our country in a dangerous and misogynistic chokehold. The same religious organisations that fuel the ongoing stigma are the same that ripped babies from their mothers when they were born, and worse.

It is time for the Government and elected officials to ensure that the rhetoric and narrative surrounding abortion is in line with our global peers. Abortion is healthcare and the denial of it as a service is a breach of human rights. Imagine if we allowed other moralistic beliefs to interfere so detrimentally with other healthcare provisions. Imagine if protesters were permitted to protest in a manner that directly made nurses and doctors feel unsafe for providing blood transfusions, and added psychological trauma to those who had to avail of it. Imagine if people felt threatened and their privacy violated for availing of legal, recognised forms of health care. I can assure the Minister that if the men in our society were facing this, day in, day out, it would have been made law and sorted out long ago.

The stigma will not leave on its own, nor will it disappear overnight. The narrative, education and discourse surrounding abortion must change. The focus must shift from morality to legality and reality. The reality is that abortion is healthcare. The reality is that abortion is legal. The reality is that these protests fail utterly to recognise the nuanced and deeply personal decisions and facts that are being faced by those who seek abortion services. The reality is that these protests do not change those facts, they merely serve to contribute to a harmful and dangerous legal and medical environment. Abortion is healthcare. That is the reality which has to be recognised.

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