London, England, Sep 13, 2018 / 15:15 pm
The British Home Secretary has rejected proposals for buffer zones around abortion clinics throughout England and Wales as disproportionate, after finding that most abortion protests are peaceful and passive.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said in his Sept. 13 decision that after reviewing the evidence, which included "upsetting examples of harassment … what is clear from the evidence we gathered is that these activities are not the norm, and predominantly, anti-abortion activities are more passive in nature."
The typical activities of those protesting outside of abortion clinics "include praying, displaying banners and handing out leaflets," Javid noted.
He added that there were "relatively few" reports of more "aggressive activities", such as "handing out model foetuses, displaying graphic images, following people, blocking their paths and even assaulting them."