I am sick of women in Northern Ireland being treated as second-class citizens. This is why I volunteer as a client escort for women attending the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast. Northern Ireland has the harshest criminal penalty for abortion anywhere in Europe β life imprisonment both for the woman and for anyone assisting her.
That sentence even applies in cases where the pregnancy results from rape or incest, or in cases of fatal foetal impairment. The only exception is a medical abortion β an alternative to surgical abortion where you take two sets of pills to end an early pregnancy.
Just over two years ago Marie Stopes opened the clinic in Belfast and offered women access to medical abortions up to nine weeks into a pregnancy. By opening its doors, Marie Stopes single-handedly ended the public lie that women had been allowed to believe here since Since opening, anti-abortion protesters are camped outside the building. They bring with them huge posters showing graphic images of what they claim are an aborted foetus. They ask the public to sign their petition and approach any woman of child-bearing age who is entering the nine-storey building.
They say this is a prayer vigil. When booking an appointment with the clinic all clients are offered our escort service, but few accept. Many then arrive at the clinic deeply distressed and shocked at the experience of having to go past the protesters. Some arrive with leaflets in hand; none are sure if they have been recorded or photographed on their way in. Most clients request an escort to leave again. As escorts we work in pairs.
One wears a body camera and the other carries a walkie-talkie with a panic alarm. We have all been put through intensive certified training before taking on this role. We discuss between ourselves where the client needs to go and explain to them how we will best get there. We stay with each woman until she feels safe and secure enough to continue without us. The clinic building is glass-fronted and to leave we must walk up a corridor.
