Two leading abortion providers in Britain have called for US-style ‘buffer zones’ around clinics to ‘protect’ staff and visitors from pro-life advocates.

Pro-lifer  campaigners say it is an attack on the right to protest.

Maries Stopes and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) have launched a campaign, ‘Back Off’, to persuade legislators to enact laws restricting the right of pro-life demonstrators or leafleters to act within a set distance of their facilities.

According to the abortion providers, the adoption of buffer zones “would stop activity taking place directly outside centres, ensure women are not approached unsolicited, and prevent other activities designed to cause distress – eg: filming and strewing the pathway with pictures or models of foetuses.”

One pro-life group, which stages regular demonstrations at abortion clinics, Abort67, rejected the charge that its activities are designed to cause distress and insisted its aim was to educate women as to the real consequances of abortion.

“It is definitely not our aim to upset women who have been through the trauma of abortion,” a spokesperson for Abort67 stressed. “However, we absolutely believe that the life of an unborn person is considerably more important than hurt feelings.

“We also believe in order for more women not to be damaged by killing their sons and daughters they need to come to terms with the horror of abortion.”

The Back Off campaign has, however, found support among the Labour Party with shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper stating this week that “women need to be able to attend sensitive health care appointments, including abortion services, without facing intimidation and harrassment.”

In addition, the campaign is being supported by the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Royal College of Midwives.

Despite such shows of support, the campaign looks set to fall foul of Britain’s laws assuring the right of assembly and peaceful protest.