ACT's laws about abortion clinic exclusion zones tested
Executive Director of SHFPACT, Tim Bavinton, reflects on the first legal test of the ACT's laws establishing protest exclusion zones at abortion clinics.
ON 9 March 2018, the ACT Magistrate’s Court dismissed charges against three men for allegedly violating ACT laws establishing protest exclusion zones around medical facilities providing abortion services. The three acknowledged their longstanding opposition to abortion and their prior involvement in vigils and protests at the same site over many years.
Keen observers are likely to view the decision either with concern or welcome it, depending on how it reflects their underlying beliefs about abortion.
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