Provisions that will ban protestors from approaching patients and medics in ’access zones’ have been added to the bill.

Ralph Peake (Douglas North) succeeded in getting backing for the new clauses that will enable the creation of ’access zones’ around the hospital, centres offering abortion services and the homes of medical staff. Some, mainly technical, amendments were approved.

Under the new provision, anti-abortion protestors will face prosecution if they target vulnerable women or staff in such access zones.

Several amendments were added to the provisions, under which the Department of Health and Social Care must create an access zone around the hospital. In other circumstances, it will be down to a medical practitioner to request a zone around their practice, or for staff to request a zone to be created to prevent protests outside their homes.

However, once the request is made, the DHSC will be obliged to create the zone. An attempt by Alfred Cannan (Ayre and Michael), to effectively give the department the power to turn down a request, was rejected.

Under the provisions if a protestor ignores a warning from a police officer to stop what they are doing, they will be breaking the law.

Mr Peake praised Chris Robertshaw (Douglas East) and Tim Baker (Ayre and Michael), who had previously expressed serious reservations, for working with him to update the wording of the provisions.