Thread by @rachaelfrclarke

Just before Christmas, the abortion Minister - who, frankly, should be better informed - tweeted about a woman arrested in Birmingham for 'silently praying'. This was in a buffer zone around a @BPAS1968 clinic. Let me tell you about her group and what's really going on. (1/9) 🧵

This group have been outside BPAS Birmingham South in @steve_mccabe's constituency since the last clinic they stood outside closed in 2018. They're not the first group to attend our clinic. The first were two men with microphones who called our nurses and women 'murderers'. (2/9)

The newer group led by this women have different tactics - but no less of an impact. They approach women, hand out false medical information, tell them they're doing 'ungodly' things. Their persistent actions have caused women to have panic attacks and delay treatment. (3/9)

This group also hand out leaflets about dangerous and unproven pills to 'reverse' abortions. The expert bodies @RCObsGyn @MidwivesRCM @FSRH_UK have all said that there is 'no reputable evidence' for what they try to peddle to women at the clinic gate (4/9) rcog.org.uk/news/no-reputa…

Women experience their actions as harassment - and are scared. Whether or not that is the intention, I can't say - but I can say they have been told this repeatedly and have done nothing to change. And nothing *would* have changed without @BhamCityCouncil taking action. (5/9)

More than 200,000 women access abortions in England and Wales every year. More than *half* of them attend a clinic where this kind of activity goes on outside. This is not free speech or protest - it's targeted harassment and it's unacceptable. (6/9)

What's also unacceptable is that the only law we can resort to to address this problem is anti-social behaviour law. It works - but its implementation is patchy. That's why we worked so hard to get universal buffer zones around abortion clinics into the Public Order Bill. (7/9)

The Public Order Bill is still going through the House of Lords - and the same people crowing about this woman's arrest as being about 'silent prayer' are also bombarding Lords with emails asking them to oppose it. We're optimistic - but the fight isn't over yet. (8/9)

Women deserve more from the law - and much, much more from the abortion Minister. I'd rather not be writing this thread on Boxing Day, but this is what we're facing from people outside clinics, and from a Minister who believes it should continue. #BackOff bpas.org/media/3754/202…

Can I also just add to this - speaking to our clinic manager, I am in no doubt about the positive impact the buffer zone is having on our clients. There is no middle ground here - you're either in favour of protecting women, or you're proactively in favour of them being harassed.