Local authorities could be given powers to impose exclusion zones outside maternity hospitals preventing anti-abortion protests, Minister for Health Simon Harris has suggested. Another option Mr Harris said he was examining was to engage with the Minister for Justice in relation to legislation governing intimidation and harassment. While calls for exclusion zones outside health facilities providing abortions were first made over a year ago, the issue has resurfaced following a sizable protest by anti-abortion activists outside the National Maternity Hospital on New Year’s Day. If you want to protest against Government policy, off you go, turn up at the Dáil, turn up at the department. How dare you turn up at the National Maternity Hospital and try to intimidate women.

Source: The Irish Times January 02, 2020 18:35 UTC