Politicians: ‘Authoritarian’ Safe Access Zones law is ‘bad day for civil rights’

Politicians and a pro-life campaigner have decried the recent enactment of the Safe Access Zones legislation, a law that prohibits conduct ‘aimed at impeding access or influencing decisions’ 100 metres from an entrance or exit to a premises that provides abortion, as being “authoritarian”, “draconian” and represents “a bad day for civil rights in Ireland”.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic in the aftermath of the controversial law coming into effect last week, Aontú leader and TD Peadar Tóibín said that the occasion represented “a bad day for civil rights in Ireland”.

“The right to protest is a key democratic right, even when you don’t agree with the object of a person’s protest. Aontú will always stand up for that key civil right.

“The idea that we are going to prevent another mother or woman potentially offering solutions, such as economic solutions, to mothers on the verge of having an abortion is very sad and wrong. It shows you the authoritarian nature of this Government. When bans on democratic freedoms are introduced they often increase over time,” he said.

Voicing her opposition to the new law, Independent TD Carol Nolan said that there is “no credible evidential basis for this law” and that the motivations behind it seek to criminalise peaceful protest and pro-life discourse.

“This legislation is rooted in a defensive and resentful, authoritarian impulse,” she said. “There is no credible evidential basis for this law beyond a desire to set pro-life discourse and peaceful protest on a trajectory toward outright criminalisation.

“Peaceful and compassionate outreach are now being reframed as a threat to democracy and acts of ‘aggression’ or ‘intimidation’. This is an absurdity that almost defies description from a Government that is out of ideas on how to really assist women in difficult circumstances,” Ms Nolan said.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath, described the legislation as being the fruit of “an un-Christian Government” looking to “silence people”.

“It’s another attempt to silence people,” he said. “I don’t want and I’m sure that anyone involved in the pro-life moment doesn’t want people feeling intimidated going into hospitals but literally this actually means that we can’t have a march down O’Connell Street because we’re within distance of a medical facility.

“It’s just draconian legislation introduced by an un-Christian Government.”

CEO of the Pro-Life Campaign Eilís Mulroy said that the legislation symbolised “a deeply troubling attack on the right of citizens to peacefully assemble and present the pro-life position in public”.

“In 2020, the Garda Commissioner told the Government that the proposal to introduce the new law was unnecessary and unhelpful but they chose to ignore his advice,” she said. “They caved instead to the whims of the most extreme elements of the pro-abortion movement.

“We will fight for as long as it takes to have this unjust law repealed.”