Chai Brady
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris
Photo: Gerry Mooney A pro-life group have welcomed the Garda Commissioner’s statement that ‘safe access zones’ to abortion providers were unnecessary, but said politicians’ reactions were “deeply alarming”.
The Pro Life Campaign criticised some prominent TDs who decidedly ignored and belittled the statement which said further legislation wasn’t needed.
Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said: “What these reactions clearly establish is that the proposed introduction of ‘Safe Access Zone’ legislation was less about protecting women and more about strong arming the law into silencing pro-life voices. “Now that this tactic has encountered a sudden and dramatic challenge, efforts are being made to effectively diminish the authority of the Garda Commissioner’s office and to rubbish his objective expert assessment by characterising it as a mere ‘distraction’.”
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris wrote to Health Minister Simon Harris saying he was satisfied that existing public order legislation could “adequately deal with any reasonable public order incident that may arise at such centres, I re-confirm my views expressed at our recent meeting that protests to date at such centres have not contravened the law and are peaceful,” he said.
There was “no evidence to suggest that there is threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour directed towards persons utilising those services,” the Commissioner added.
Ms Mulroy said that Mr Harris’s continued support of the legislation indicates “we have now entered a space where the advice of the State’s most senior policing official on matters of ‘public safety’ is not worth the paper it is written on for some politicians”.