The Western Australian government needs to introduce exclusion zones around women’s health clinics as a matter of urgency, according to clinicians who say anti-abortion protesters are becoming more aggressive, spitting on and verbally abusing patients.

Staff at the Marie Stopes family planning clinic in the Perth suburb of Midland told Guardian Australia that they were being targeted from the moment they drove up to the clinic.

Kelly Grace, a registered nurse who has worked at Marie Stopes for three years, said she had lost count of the number of distressed female patients that came into the clinic crying and distressed after encountering the protesters outside of the clinic.

“I genuinely fear for my safety,” Grace said.

“I have had holy water thrown on my car, I have had them attempt to hand anti-abortion pamphlets through the car window, and when I take the bins out of the clinic each day they scream profanities at me.

“I never know how rabid they will be.”



Quick Guide Abortion in Australia Show Types of abortion Surgical - can be performed up to between 20 to 24 weeks gestation, depending on legislation Medical – can be administered up to nine weeks gestation and can be done at home except in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory Legislation Abortion laws vary between states and territories. It has been effectively decriminalised in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It remains in the criminal code in Queensland and New South Wales, but can be performed in these states under certain circumstances. Costs Costs vary, depending on geography and gestation. In urban areas and when they are performed by private providers, a first trimester surgical or medical abortion usually costs between $250-$400. This is what most women would pay in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. Outside of major population areas, for example Tasmania and North Queensland, or regional areas, abortions of both kind can cost much more. In Rockhampton for example, a medical abortion costs above $700. In places where they can be provided publicly, like South Australia and the Northern Territory, they are free. Late term abortions can be especially hard to access and women may be flown interstate to get them. How often do they happen? There is no specific Medicare number for abortions – they are lumped in with other gynaecological procedures including treatment of miscarriage. Because of this it is difficult to accurately measure the number that occur each year. According to Children by Choice, a Queensland-based counselling service: "The lack of accurate information about abortion rates makes it difficult to plan for service delivery and to monitor whether public health interventions are successful in reducing the unplanned pregnancy and abortion rate, at both state and national levels."

Grace said she and other staff were particularly fearful in the lead up to Lent, the annual 40-day period of Christian observance preceding Easter. Each year the number of protesters increased during Lent, Kelly said, and she said those protesters were more confrontational. Up to a dozen protesters attended the clinic each day during the Lent period, she said.

“It’s causing me a lot of anxiety,” Grace said. “They are so fundamentalist in their views, so righteous in how they feel. I would like to honour their right to protest while protecting women’s rights to healthcare and I think a buffer zone is needed.

“Women shouldn’t have this in their face. The worst cases are women who really want their baby but who are coming in for a termination because of a lethal fetal abnormality, and so their pregnancy is unviable. Those cases are just so distressing.”

She said that some women had told her they had been put off from attending the clinic after Googling the location and seeing protesters outside of it on Google street view.

The ACT, Tasmania, Victoria and the Northern Territory are the only places with exclusion zones in place that make it illegal for protesters to stand outside of or near to women’s health services. The distance protesters must be from clinics varies according to jurisdiction.

The Western Australian health minister Roger Cook has previously indicated his support for exclusion zones, but they are yet to be implemented. Guardian Australia has contacted the minister’s office for comment.

The CEO of Marie Stopes Australia, Michelle Thompson, said clinic staff had reported to her that protesters were actively trying to prevent women from entering the clinic. She said police were often called but by the time they arrived, the protesters had calmed down or left.

“Staff and patients are being verbally and physically abused, spat on and told they are going to hell,” she said. “We’ve noticed the protests increase substantially before Lent and it’s more orchestrated and organised now around that time. The protesters have become quite bold and the message I want to get across is that we desperately need safe access zones to protect patients and staff.

“I’ve been in health for 30 years and abortion care is the only medical service where people have to go through a group of protesters in order to get healthcare.”

The head of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Michael Gannon, is also an obstetrician working in WA. He said it was a concern to hear that women were facing protesters.

“In other parts of the world we have witnessed crimes committed against doctors, nurses and other staff just doing their job,” he said. “This is a legal and legitimate form of healthcare.”

