Law Ealing Council approves Abortion protest ban - Good?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41577129

So a council in London just basically told pro-life activists to get the fuck away from an abortion clinic in the Ealing borough and stop harassing patients who want to get in. I'm also hearing rumblings that this could be rolled out nationwide (probably excepting Norn Iron though).

 

[CWCissey]

That's kind of what I assumed this was. The article doesn't spell it out very well and I don't know what the freedom of expression laws in the UK have to say about peaceful protests/gatherings in general.

I think if you inform local authorities of your intentions, you're good to go.

https://www.liberty-human-rights.or...icle-11-right-protest-and-freedom-association

 

[FromaCorvairSix]

While I take no issue with abortion, I also think this twenty week limit in America is a fair compromise. I respect what pro abortion people say when they say they are afraid of the anti abortion crew getting an inch and taking a mile though. Which is actually what I have a problem with here. I think those people who hang around outside abortion clinics shaming people are disgusting and fuck them, but this is the slippery slope. Ok so abortion haters can't protest, can nazis? Can people who insist they aren't nazis despite the media all saying they are? Can Charles Murray protest? And while we're at it, can Charles Murray give a talk? Because it seems silly if we're banning protests and not banning things that deserve to be protested, as described by me and my friends. So now we're banning talks and yada yada yada, nineteen eighty-four.

Most of western Europe has far more rigid limitations on abortion access than the USA, with abortion being mostly banned after 13-20 weeks depending on country. The default "abortion-on-demand, at any time" viewpoint that a majority of pro choice American liberals share is pretty extreme compared to the center left in the rest of the developed world, probably because abortion rights got so tied up in the internal politics of the feminist movement here back in the 60's.

 

[TwinkleSnort]

Maybe you just don't feel very strongly about murder? The protestors at my local PP never seem to be out when its raining, so I'm not sure how strongly they feel about it either.

lol calm down

 

[Spellskite]

The abortion protesters I've seen in London tend to be ineffectual middle-aged busybodies who stand outside the clinics with signs and look sheepish.

TBH, I think anything that saves people from the horror of being born in Ealing should be considered a meritorious act.

I have a friend that drives past an abortion clinic on his way to work, and he's shown some pretty depressing photographs. THIS IS WHAT AMERICA'S AUSCHWITZ LOOKS LIKE was the most recent banner I was shown.

I'm wary about civil liberties being eroded but I wonder how many of these people protesting are there to campaign for change, and how many of them are just there to scream at women and make them feel as horrible as possible. I just don't see anything productive about it, but I suppose that could be said about many protests.