Safe access zones for abortion services 'must not expose providers'

Legislation will apply to all providers who are eligible to provide abortion services, not just those who currently do.

New legislation to allow for safe access zones at facilities that provide abortion services must not “highlight or expose individual providers” of such services, an Oireachtas Committee will hear on Wednesday.

Department of Health assistant secretary Muiris O’Connor will tell members of the Health Committee that the department would be “reluctant” to identify individual providers and would prefer to allow them to operate in a manner that protects privacy and confidentiality.

“Unfortunately, the suggestion of creating a register would run counter to this policy intention,” he will say.

Mr O’Connor will tell TDs and senators that the legislation will apply to all providers who are eligible to provide abortion services, not just those who currently do, and “it is hoped that this would entice additional practitioners to provide the service, and increase availability and access”.

Garda powers

Furthermore, the department has no objections to providing gardaí with additional powers beyond what’s already earmarked for the legislation, as long as it is legally feasible to do so.

It had been initially intended that safe access zones — areas where protesting is not allowed — would be introduced in tandem with the rollout of abortion services in 2019. 

However, the measure was delayed due to legal concerns and other issues.

Under the proposed laws, conduct that intentionally or reasonably influences the decision of a person either availing of or providing termination services will be banned within the zones.

Under the general scheme of the bill, it designates 100 metres surrounding or adjacent to every healthcare premises as a safe access zone.

The Department of Health said at the time it was aware of some protests “which have caused distress to those accessing and providing services” and that some sites have experienced “recurrent protests”.

There is no doubt that this is a complex piece of legislation seeking as it does to balance a range of competing rights.

“The minister is committed to developing a constitutionally robust and operationally feasible bill capable of ensuring that termination of pregnancy services can be accessed and provided safely and privately without unwarranted interference or influence," Mr O'Connor is to say to committee members.

The department’s legal advice regarding a “global warning” — where gardaí can issue a warning to engage with and attempt to disperse groups of potential offenders — could cause “practical difficulties in relation to the proofs in a prosecution”.

The use of Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 would provide gardaí with the necessary suite of powers to investigate and prosecute such offences.

In November, gardaí told politicians that the proposed laws on safe access zones do not go far enough.

“While the proposed powers within the bill are noted, they fall short of providing An Garda Síochána with an effective investigatory tool in the context of detentions or searches and seizures of evidence where suspected offences are serious in nature,” Deputy Commissioner Anne Marie McMahon said.