The first ever private abortion
clinic on the island of Ireland has hired security guards to protect
clients and staff when it opens in Belfast on Thursday, the
international director of the sexual health charity Marie Stopes has
confirmed.Marie Stopes's decision to offer abortion services in Northern Ireland for those up to nine weeks pregnant will also make it easier for women in the Irish Republic to seek a termination for the first time ever on the island.
The charity's arrival in Belfast comes as the Catholic church is launching a major anti-abortion "40 weeks for life" campaign to oppose any reform of the law by Dublin.
Anti-abortion activists in Northern Ireland have said they will try to stop women terminating their pregnancies at Marie Stopes's premises in central Belfast from this week onwards. Groups such as Precious Life have promised protests and demonstrations outside the clinic.
In an interview with the Guardian in advance of the clinic's opening at Belfast's Great Victoria Street, Tracey McNeil, the director of UK and Europe for Marie Stopes, said she had concerns about safety for staff and clients using their services.
"We have looked very close at security and we have got arrangements in place," she said.
Asked if security guards would be in place at the Belfast clinic, McNeil replied: "Yes, there will, but you know I really hope it's peaceful. People have a right to protest and I respect that. What I appeal for is that this is peaceful and that we allow our team members and our clients to come in and out of the clinic in a way that they won't feel threatened or abused. But I will do absolutely everything to protect our team and our clients."
McNeil pointed out that even from time to time in England, where unlike Northern Ireland the 1967 Abortion Act allows for terminations up to 24 weeks, Marie Stopes clinics have to employ security staff.
"I am always mindful of the security of our team members and that is something we take very seriously. I would be foolish if I was not concerned about that."
Marie Stopes has also been working with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to review their security needs in advance of the opening, she said.