Buffer zones will be set up around abortion clinics

Buffer zones will come into force around abortion clinics in England and Wales from October 31.

This means it will be illegal for anyone to cause harassment or distress to anyone accessing or working in a clinic.

The protection zones, which will ban all protests, will extend within a 150-metre radius around abortion services and those found to have broken the new law will face an unlimited fine.

An abortion charity said the move could not “come soon enough”, but a pro-life organisation warned women would lose access to “vital practical support”.

Privacy Minister Jess Phillips said: “The right to access abortion services is a fundamental right for women in this country, and no one should feel unsafe when seeking access.

“We will not stand by and tolerate harassment, abuse and intimidation as people exercise their legal right to health care.”

The law was initially approved by Parliament in May 2023. However, the government said it would launch a consultation on the guidance before authorising the implementation of the buffer zones.

This led one charity to accuse the then Conservative government of “pushing the issue” to a later date.

Campaigners also expressed concern that the draft directive would still allow “silent prayer” outside abortion clinics.

The Interior Ministry announced that the changes will be implemented from the end of October.

Under the law, it would be illegal for “anyone to do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences a person’s decision to use abortion services, obstructs them or causes harassment or distress to a person using or working in those premises,” the department said.

Silent prayer is also expected to be covered by the law. Police and prosecutors will receive instructions on how to enforce the law in the coming weeks.

A similar ban was introduced in Northern Ireland last year and another will come into force in Scotland on September 24.

Heidi Stewart, head of the UK Pregnancy Advisory Service, said the introduction of these zones “cannot come soon enough”.

“For years, our staff and the women in our care have had to endure anti-abortion zealots standing outside clinics for hours, watching them as they access or go to private medical care, stopping them outside and telling them that abortion is murder.”

She added that the government should remember that the law was “designed to address the harm caused by so-called silent prayer” and that “all forms of harassment” should be banned.

Catherine Robinson, a spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said the zones would mean that “the vital practical support provided by volunteers outside abortion clinics, which helps provide real choice and offers support to women who may be experiencing coercion, will be removed”.