Rightwing protestors who have picketed the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast since its opening in 2012 have been called upon to end their activities following the conviction of one of their leaders for harassing clinic director Dawn Purvis.
Bernie Smyth, chief of the anti-abortion group Precious Life, was convicted in November of harassing Purvis on two dates in 2014.
The 51-year-old Smyth had denied the charges and, following her conviction, her solicitor Aidan Carlin described the verdict as “a disappointment for Christians worldwide”.
Anti-abortion campaigners have staged protests and handed out leaflets at the centre which offers
sexual and reproductive healthcare and early medical abortions within Northern Ireland’s limited laws since it opened on Great Victoria Street in October 2012.
In response to the verdict, Workers’ Party spokeswoman, Gemma Weir, said: “Every woman who uses a family planning service, a pregnancy advice service or any other service concerned with her reproductive health and her choices deserves to avail of that service without harassment, intimidation, threats or abuse”.
She added: “People have a right to a point of view, an opinion and an opposing belief, but they don’t have a right to intimidate and harass. In light of this judgment the next logical step is for all those who protest outside the Marie Stopes clinic to desist immediately and allow women to access its services unhindered”.
The establishment of Precious Life was both inspired and partly-funded by Youth Defence. In 1999, Smyth told the Glasgow Herald, “You know who runs the American abortion industry? The Mafia and the Jews!” The former BNP and Britain First member, as well as Loyalist flag protester, Jim Dowson, is a former leading member of Precious Life.
