On 15 June, Gillian MacKay, Green MSP, lodged a bill that would criminalise peaceful pro-life vigils.

After an extended period of consultation, Gillian MacKay MSP has now lodged the Proposed Abortion Services Safe Access Zones (Scotland) Bill. This bill targets peaceful, prayerful pro-life vigils outside of facilities that provide abortion in Scotland. 

It is expected that this bill will be debated and voted on in the autumn, following the summer recess.

If it passes, this bill will put in place a 150 meter “safe access zone” around every facility that performs abortions in Scotland. Within this zone, it would be prohibited to:

• Persistently, continuously, or repeatedly occupy a safe access zone;
• Impede or block somebody’s path or an entrance to abortion services;
• Intimidate or harass a person;
• Seek to influence or persuade a person concerning their access to or employment in connection with abortion services;
• Demonstrate using items such as leaflets, posters, and pictures specifically related to abortion; and
• Photograph, film, or record a person in the zone.

This would mean that to participate in pro-life vigils outside of abortion facilities would be illegal. For a first-time offence, those found in breach of a “safe access zone” could be fined or face a six-month prison sentence. For repeat offences, that sentence could be increased to up to two years. This is even more extreme than the buffer zones introduced through the Public Order Bill in England and Wales, where imprisonment was ruled out as a penalty.

Consultation respondents opposed to legislation

On the same day as lodging this extreme bill, MacKay also published the responses from a consultation on the topic from 2022. There were nearly 12,000 submissions to the consultation.

42% of respondents were fully opposed to the proposed legislation. Of those who identified as “professionals with experience in a relevant subject”, 36% were fully opposed; and of those who identified as “academics with expertise in a relevant subject”, 45% were fully opposed. Consultation submissions included testimony from those who attend vigils, and stories of women who have been positively impacted by pro-life vigils. Yet, it appears the concerns raised in these submissions had little impact on the proposed bill. Ms Mackay even accused pro-life people of “skewing” the consultation because several thousand were submitted through a third-party system in the final two weeks of the consultation, although her document admitted that they were unique responses.

Infringement on fundamental freedoms

Alithea Williams, Public Policy Manager for SPUC, writes:

“This bill follows similar moves to ban peaceful pro-life vigils in other parts of the UK. It is part of a continued campaign to punish pro-life people for attempting to be present to women in need and to witness to the humanity of the unborn. It would represent a massive overstep, and an infringement on fundamental freedoms.

“It is ironic that in the same week that many are saying there should be no consequences for having an illegal abortion at 8 months gestation, resulting in tragic consequences (link to Carla Foster story), there are many advocating for prison sentences for those who silently pray for women undergoing abortions.

“The submissions to the consultation prove that there is not a consensus on this topic, and the public and experts have serious concerns about the impact this legislation could have on freedom of speech and assembly, as well as opening the door for religious discrimination. In addition, many submissions acknowledge the important lifeline that pro-life vigils offer to women, who may feel they have no choice other than abortion, perhaps because of pressure from people or circumstances. To criminalise vigils in this way would be to abandon those most vulnerable women.

“We hope that Members of the Scottish Parliament will see sense and vote against this draconian bill. SPUC will be campaigning hard on this and providing resources for supporters to lobby their MSPs in the following weeks.”