Liberal Democrat MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton has made unsubstantiated and vindictive claims against pro-life groups and people in a letter to Health Minister Joe Fitzpatrick, calling for Scottish censorship zones to be introduced outside abortion facilities. The accusations from Mr Cole-Hamilton mirror allegations he made previously in 2018, and his smearing of innocent pro-life people continues.
In the letter, the Edinburgh West MSP, said: "You will be aware of alarming reports that an anti-abortion protest group held a forty-day long protest outside the Chalmers clinic in Edinburgh. Despite apparent monitoring, protests have now intensified. It is clear that Scottish councils must be afforded the same powers as English councils to establish buffer zones around medical centres, where they consider patients to be at risk of harassment."
He continued: "Every woman in Scotland has the right to access sensitive medical care discreetly and without fear of harassment or intimidation. Similarly, NHS staff working in facilities like this one across Scotland should not have to endure harassment on their way to work."
Mr Cole-Hamilton’s intolerance of pro-life people, and those who believe in the power of prayer, has shone through in his letter which is brimming with unsubstantiated assertions of wrong-doing. Despite the MSP’s demand for censorship zones to be enforced, along with his accusations of ‘intimidation’ and harassment’, it was only last month that Edinburgh City council rejected the notion of a censorship zone, due to lack of evidence from the NHS and Police Scotland.
In March of this year, a joint working party involving The City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Lothian and Police Scotland considered the application of a censorship zone in Edinburgh. The report found that "as things currently stood there was no overwhelming evidence to suggest the actions were causing unnecessary distress and as such did not feel the necessity to enact any police measures."
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh said: "Many in Edinburgh’s Catholic community will be deeply concerned by Alex Cole-Hamilton’s characterisation of those who participate in the city’s pro-life vigil as being threatening in any way, especially given that Edinburgh City Council, NHS Scotland and Police Scotland have all concluded that the prayer vigil is both a lawful and peaceful public act."
Mr Cole-Hamilton’s accusations currently stand completely unsubstantiated with no evidence to support them. Instead his claims suggest a personal intolerance towards the pro-life community and their message.
Ignoring the reality
Despite Edinburgh and London witnessing scenes of public chaos in recent weeks, brought about by hundreds of climate change protestors, Mr Cole Hamilton has chosen to ignore the widespread disturbance to the cities. Instead he has chosen to focus his attention on a peaceful prayer group, often consisting of elderly volunteers.
Additionally, Mr Cole-Hamilton has chosen to turn a blind eye to the escalating violence and intolerance towards pro-life people across the country.
His irresponsible assertions are part of the escalating media and legal attacks on peaceful pro-life vigils which effectively vilify the pro-life presence in Britain. It is an attack on freedom of speech and assembly that should concern every citizen of a democratic society. Human rights campaigners once prized freedom of speech as so important that it should be infringed only in the rarest of occasions. This view was exemplified in the famous ‘Handyside’ judgement of the European Court of Human Rights which ruled "Freedom of expression...is applicable not only to 'information' or 'ideas' that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population".
Blinded to the truth
SPUC Scotland Chief Executive, John Deighan said: "One wonders if politicians like Alex Cole-Hamilton live in a parallel universe. We have just seen highly disruptive protests in Edinburgh and London this week, yet Mr Cole-Hamilton wants to ban a tiny number of people who gather occasionally near health clinics to offer women support to have their babies. In reality, it is a desperate and repressive measure that he is calling for"
He continued: "Abortion supporters are terrified that people learn the reality of abortion and seemingly don’t want women offered alternatives. Years of repeating pro-abortion mantras seem to have blinded the likes of Mr Cole-Hamilton to the truth that women are typically coerced to have abortions and often suffer greatly in the months and years afterwards. It is a cruel irony that he wants to suppress a basic freedom in a democratic society to deprive women of help.
Edinburgh City Council and Police Scotland have already examined allegations around the presence of pro-life vigils and have found nothing to substantiate them; yet abortion advocates continue to assert the slur. We have laws to tackle any intimidation and police have not had to use them for any pro-life vigils, quite simply because it has not been happening."