An anti-abortion group seeking to overturn the UK’s only exclusion zone around a Marie Stopes clinic, in Ealing, west London, have told judges they believe the council’s actions amounted to an illegal discrimination against their right to free speech and peaceful protest.

Alasdair Henderson, a lawyer representing a woman who is a member of the Good Counsel Network, said that the ban on protesters from being within 100 metres of the clinic should be struck down because the effect on the anti-abortion group was “inherently disproportionate”.

The barrister told the high court that Ealing council’s public space protection order had “wide ramifications for freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and other issues”. He said it particularly affected anti-abortion protesters such as his client, whose action amounted to “two or three people waiting outside quietly offering leaflets and praying”.

The court heard that anti-abortion groups have been holding vigils outside the Ealing clinic for 20 years. Kuljit Bhogal, representing Ealing council, said that the testimonies of service users showed that there was “account after account of people being obstructed in terms of their entry, or in terms of them being referred to as murderers”.

Evidence submitted by Bhogal included examples of anonymous service users complaining about the presence of anti-abortion protesters, in witness statements and consultation responses available to the council. One of those cited said: “Seeing them there was traumatic. I saw the groups there, my legs began to shake and I stopped in my tracks … when I left the clinic after completing the procedure I was almost immediately targeted”.



She said she was given “a light blue leaflet that said ‘counselling’ on the front but when I opened it up to see an image of a dead foetus I was about to faint.”

Ealing is the first place in the UK to introduce an exclusion zone around its abortion clinic. Introduced in April, it is designed to prevent all protests following complaints that there had been harassment and intimidation of women visiting the service.



The test case, heard in front of Mr Justice Turner, is being followed closely by other councils. If Ealing’s order is a success similar zones could be introduced elsewhere in the country. The abortion provider BPAS says there are regular protests outside 43 clinics in the UK.

Henderson is representing Florica Alina Dulgheriu, who changed her mind about having an abortion after meeting an anti-abortion campaigner outside the clinic in 2011 and now has a six-year-old daughter. She is a member of the Good Counsel Network, described as “a women’s organisation with a Christian ethos” that offers advice, help and moral support to women considering an alternative to abortion.



Bhogal told the court that Ealing council’s action was fair to all parties. “In what has been a delicate balancing exercise, the council has facilitated the activities of the pro-life and pro-choice groups by providing a designated zone where they can continue their activities,” the lawyer said.

Judgment in the case is expected to be reserved.

