Abortion protest-free zones: Christian Institute says much of Belfast city centre could end up covered by ban on 'influencing' people
A group which opposes the government's abortion protest exclusion zones fears that the one in central Belfast could expand to cover much of the city centre.
James Kennedy of the Christian Institute made the comments amid a renewed focus on such zones, after the American vice-president used a major international speech to attack them.
JD Vance gave his speech in Munich on Friday, saying that the UK's adoption of these zones is an example of how "in Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat".
Now, speaking to the News Letter, Mr Kennedy, the Christian Institute's Northern Ireland policy director, says "these zones demonstrate the ability of the state to repress views it sees as objectionable", causing him to wonder: "What next?"
Such zones were introduced in Northern Ireland in 2022 via Stormont, over the objections of the DUP and TUV (the other parties voted in favour of them).
They are officially known as "safe access zones" (SAZs).
SAZs are made up of two parts: the main zone, covering facilities where abortions or abortion advice/counselling are provided, and a buffer zone around the entrance and exits.
These buffer zones are a minimum of 100m deep, but can be extended to a maximum of 250m.
It is illegal to "influence" anyone within an SAZ who is A) attending such a facility concerning an abortion, B) anyone accompanying them, or C) anyone working at such a facility.
There are eight SAZs in Northern Ireland at the minute, seven of which are at hospitals.
One of them, however, surrounds a small medical clinic in College Street in Belfast city centre.
The buffer zone of that facility stretches for 130m, meaning there is currently a circular-shaped protest-free zone in the city centre taking in Fountain Street, Queen Street, and the north-western part of City Hall.
Mr Kennedy fears it will be stretched further.
"One of the most worrying examples is the zone which covers a large part of Belfast city centre," he said.
"Technically, part of the grounds of City Hall is off-limits to pro-life protest, even though political slogans of all sorts can be found there any day of the week.
"Many of the pedestrian streets between CastleCourt shopping centre and City Hall are off-limits for certain types of speech.
“Many people will not notice the zones as they are currently constituted. But the question on many people’s lips is – what next?
"Any expansion of the zones would be a worrying development. The one in the city centre is currently set at 130 metres; if it was extended to the maximum 250 metres it could cover all of City Hall, a school, student accommodation, Presbyterian Assembly Buildings and some other conference venues.
"That would clearly be disproportionate. But many will already think that line was crossed long ago.”