Anti-abortion protesters 'upsetting clients' as they return to picket Perth clinic

Pro-life protesters have returned to a Perth abortion clinic after permits cancelled earlier this year were reinstated.

The picketers, who regularly gather outside the Marie Stopes facility in Midland, had permission to protest rescinded in March following the coronavirus outbreak.

Despite this, staff at the clinic said they had to call police after the anti-abortionists showed up on March 27.

Now they are back, and with the WA government's safe access zone legislation yet to be introduced, the clinic said clients and staff were being upset by the protesters' presence.

“For anyone working in healthcare, the last few months have been particularly difficult," Marie Stopes Midland nurse unit manager Leigh Keane said.

“Abortion care has been deemed an essential service by the Western Australian Government, so we continued to provide this care throughout COVID-19 in often challenging circumstances.”

The clinic has put in place physical distancing and other measures to decrease the risk of COVID-19, including limiting the number of people allowed into the facility.

“Like many West Australians, our team have had a challenging time during this pandemic," Ms Keane said.

"What has helped is the ability to maintain these services safely and securely without the weekly picketers upsetting clients and staff."

Marie Stopes' spokeswoman for the safe access zones campaign, Jacquie O’Brien, said picketers had no understanding of the harm they caused.

“Our communities have felt high anxiety over the past few months," she said.

"Accessing medical services has been challenging for many people because of this anxiety.

“Right now the last thing you want to see when you are entering your work place or accessing a sensitive health service is a group of strangers who are there with the sole purpose of judging you.

“These picketers do more harm than they realise.

"Their presence is intimidating and stressful for clients and staff.

"Right now, that harm is magnified, particularly for our health care workers.”

In February, the state government announced plans to establish safe access zones around premises that provide abortion services in WA.

The legislation was being drafted to protect and respect the safety, dignity, wellbeing and privacy of individuals seeking access to abortions, Health Minister Roger Cook said at the time.

"Demonstrations outside abortion services act as a barrier to accessing legal health services, cause distress and anxiety to patients and staff, and are unable to be adequately managed by existing laws," he said.

"The behaviour of demonstrators affects vulnerable patients and those accompanying patients to the clinics, as well as medical, nursing, allied health and administrative staff."

The introduction of safe access zones in WA would bring the state into line with all other Australian jurisdictions, apart from South Australia, where there is currently a Bill before parliament to introduce zones to the state.

"It is not the purpose of the proposed legislation to review or debate the arguments for or against abortion in WA," Mr Cook said.

The legislation is expected to be introduced into Parliament later this year – although how the pandemic might affect the timing of this is unclear – and will set out behaviours prohibited in a safe access zone, such as harassment, intimidation and obstruction, as well as penalties for non-compliance.