Pro-life Activists Forbidden to Stand in Front of Abortion Clinic in Utrecht
Pro-life activists of “Schreeuw om Leven”, who offer help to women in front of an abortion clinic in Utrecht, were required to stay in a buffer zone at a distance from the clinic. The Veiligheidsregio (Security Region) Utrecht referred public health and traffic safety as the reasons for the change in regulations, which was communicated on September 24th. As a consequence, the pro-life activists were severely restricted in offering support to visitors of the clinic.
Pro-life activists of the Dutch organization “Schreeuw om Leven” (transl. Scream for Life) have regularly been present in front of the Vrelinghuis, an abortion clinic in Utrecht. They handed out flyers to patients passing-by, offering their help to visitors of the clinic and praying silently. Schreeuw om Leven and their assistance deparment "Er is Hulp" (transl. There is help) look for solutions together with women who want to keep their babies but find themselves unable to do so; their offers include sponsorship plans (source: Er is Hulp). Given the situation around Covid-19, they had been keeping the prescribed 1.5 meters of distance. They did not use banners, loudspeakers or held public speeches.
In Utrecht, their meetings have to be registered as demonstrations. The next street meetings were planned for September 25th and October 5th. However, the Veiligheidsregio Utrecht (Security Region Utrecht) informed them in a letter on September 24th that they were no longer allowed to use the area of the sidewalk in front of the clinic. The indicated reasons revolved around public health and traffic safety. It was argued that the sidewalk, which is 1.4 meters wide, did not offer enough space for the pro-life workers during the Corona crisis, because the required distance of 1.5 meters between the activists and pedastrians could not be kept. It had been observed that occasionally, pedastrians switched to the adjacent bike lane which is busy especially during rush hour.
Therefore, the Veiligheidsregio allocated a small street corner on the other side of the road to the Schreeuw om Leven meetings. A similar decision had previously been made in Heemskerk, where pro-life activists were also required to stay within a buffer zone and could no longer be present in front of the clinic.
After holding the first meeting in the buffer zone on September 25, the pro-life activists in Utrecht expressed their worries. The location of the buffer zone on the other side of the street left them unable to offer help to the women walking into the clinic, some of whom find themselves in a vulnerable position and might not receive support from their surroundings.
Source: Witness Pro-Life Activist, Schreeuw om Leven, Er is Hulp, Veiligheidsregio Utrecht
Symbolic photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash