BUFFER zones, protecting patients and workers from harassment outside abortion clinics, came into force today in what was hailed a “crucial day for reproductive rights.”

Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay championed the Safe Access Zones (Scotland) Act to curb growing protests — by religious fundamentalists and the wider anti-choice lobby — aimed at shaming women seeking access to reproductive health. 

Just one MSP, the SNP’s John Mason, voted against the legislation earlier this year after a process, which heard harrowing evidence on the effects protests had on women seeking health support.