Pro-life groups are under threat of exclusion from areas around abortion clinics where they provide free information and counselling services. Rupa Huq MP is leading a pro-abortion attempt to create buffer zones outside abortion clinics which will prevent any alternative information being given to women seeking abortion. A Westminster Hall debate on the issue is scheduled for today at 4.30pm.
The Good Counsel Network, 40 Days For Life, and similar groups that gather outside abortion clinics have the care of both woman and child at the heart of their efforts. Last year combined figures from Marie Stopes in Ealing and BPAS in Twickenham show that 1,336 fewer abortions were performed in those clinics than in 2015. This shows the positive, life-affirming impact a non-judgmental presence has outside of abortion clinics.
Should Rupa Huq’s campaign be successful, women in these situations will be unable to hear of support systems in place for keeping their pre-born baby. Without lawful and peaceful gatherings of pro-life supporters, many women considering abortion would be unaware of alternatives – information that BPAS, Marie Stopes, and other abortion providers routinely and wilfully withhold.
Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of Christian Concern, has commented,
“This is not just about the right to protest. It is about concerned Christians meeting vulnerable women to help them at this difficult period in their lives. It is about offering assistance, homes, support, funding and giving them the possibility of keeping their babies or considering adoption.
A recent evidence-based review shows that a majority of women seeking an abortion are not aware of what the procedure entails or of the related health risks to the mother. Few women seeking an abortion will receive counselling that adequately or accurately informs them of such risks and that highlights alternatives. The Good Counsel Network and other pro-life groups have peacefully and lawfully gathered outside abortion clinics for decades enabling women to access truth about abortion. If women are to make informed decisions about abortion, they need to be aware of the full impact of it.”