Good Counsel Writes to Amber Rudd on Buffer Zones

Clare McCullough, Director of The Good Counsel Network has written to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd in response to the letter she received from Rupa Huq and colleagues about Buffer Zones. You can help hundreds of Mothers to have an alternative to abortion, volunteer to join the Intern Programme . Come to our vigils here and support our work and the Mothers we support here.

15^th November 2017

Dear Ms Rudd

I am writing to you in response to the letter of Ms Rupa Huq MP, requesting the implementation of buffer zones outside abortion centres, which was signed by 112 other MPs.

Firstly, I want to say that as the Director of The Good Counsel Network, which is lawfully present outside the Marie Stopes abortion centre in Ealing, we offer each woman entering the abortion centre a leaflet detailing help, support and alternatives to abortion. Hundreds of women have taken up this help and support which has enabled them to choose life for their children. Secondly, a small witness against abortion is held, several yards away from the entrance to the abortion centre. This usually consists of one or two people, occasionally as many as five, standing away from the abortion centre and praying quietly.  

In response to the many false and unevidenced allegations made by Ms Huq and her colleagues, I would like to state categorically that no-one attending our vigils calls women seeking abortion “murderers”.  Nor do we follow them. If these things were occurring at our vigils, which happen every day, there would be ample opportunity to provide proof of it. There is none.

The Good Counsel Network staff and volunteers do not have any graphic pictures of abortion on display whatsoever outside the abortion centre. We show several A4 sized images of the developing baby, which are accurate representations of babies in the womb at different stages. We do not display inaccurate pictures nor do we give women inaccurate medical information. The Good Counsel Network is the main group present at Mattock Lane in Ealing and we are there for about 38 hours per week.

During the many years we have been present outside Marie Stopes Ealing we have frequently met women entering who have stopped to speak to us precisely because they were unsure of their decision, felt under pressure to abort and often had no alternatives to abortion. Some women feel they have to abort to avoid homelessness, abuse, desertion and so on. These women include illegal immigrants, foreign students, trafficked women and a variety of UK residents who had other pressures on them that were not easy to address. Marie Stopes has no alternatives to offer these women.

On one occasion we had to call the police to assist a woman who was phoning us from inside the abortion centre because she did not want to abort, but also did not want to hurt those who had accompanied her. The police had to intervene before this woman managed to escape from the centre via a fire exit. She then took a taxi to our office, where we were able to give her the support she wanted. At no point did the abortion centre staff note that she did not want to go ahead with the abortion.

Miss Huq has repeatedly refused to meet with the many women who have changed their mind about their abortion because we have offered them help and support outside an abortion centre. Yet she and her colleagues feel competent to deny women that opportunity.  Ms Huq and those who co-signed her letter claim to speak on behalf of women, and to “trust women”, but this “trust” does not seem to apply to those women who seek and accept our help, and who, we are repeatedly told, are “not relevant” to this debate.

Marie Stopes International have been found wanting in their assessment of vulnerable women seeking abortion, for whom the proper procedures for obtaining consent and being sure of their personal freedom in choosing abortion, is particularly crucial. In fact, Marie Stopes agreed to suspend any surgical terminations for 10 weeks in 2016, and were prevented from seeing any young or vulnerable women during this period because of these findings. [i]

The CEO of British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Ann Furedi, stated recently that 15% of women change their mind at BPAS centres every year[ii]. This makes it quite clear that many women have not made up their minds to abort when they arrive at an abortion centre. Countrywide 15% of women entering abortion centres who have doubts equals tens of thousands of women who, if buffer zones are implemented, will not be offered any alternative by abortion centres. Women who are uncertain about going through with an abortion have a right to be provided with alternative support in a peaceful manner.

Our peaceful outreach to women entering abortion facilities is the simple action of offering them a leaflet, which they may choose to accept or not. I ask you to witness the peaceful work of The Good Counsel Network and not to legislate against this activity which has allowed hundreds of women to make a choice to keep their baby which would have been impossible for them otherwise.

Yours sincerely

Clare McCullough

Director, The Good Counsel Network

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[i] The CQC report into Marie Stopes activities published 20^th December 2016

[ii] Ann Furedi at the Battle of Ideas Sunday 29^th October 2017

Amended!!! 2,674 reasons why BPAS and Marie Stopes need Buffer Zones

1,336 2,257 less abortions

in Ealing and Twickenham Abortion Centres
during 2016 than in 2015.
+ abortions in Birmingham have
dropped by 417.

It's embarrassing! I put this post up on Tuesday morning as "1,336 reasons why BPAS and Marie Stopes need Buffer Zones" stating that abortions at Ealing Marie Stopes and Twickenham BPAS had dropped by 1,336 in total between 2015 and 2016.
Turns out I was so wrong!!!
Then March for Life added on the 417 drop in abortions in the Birmingham area from 2012
figures to 2016 figures.
Then, Justyna, pro-lifer extraordinaire and manager of the Twickenham vigil pointed out that actually my figures were up the creek since I had only included NHS abortions and not the private abortions done in these centres.
 I looked again at the figures and found them as below. Making a total reduction of 2,674 abortions, just from these 3 abortion centres.
So the news is even better!
And it's still true to say:

Wherever there is a full time prayerful presence at an abortion centre, with real help available, abortion figures drop.

This is why abortion providers like Marie Stopes and BPAS want buffer zones

According to department of health statistics,

Marie Stopes Ealing performed 7,459 of abortions in 2015

Marie Stopes Ealing performed 6,484 abortions in 2016
That's a drop of 13%

BPAS Twickenham performed 7,325 abortions in 2015

BPAS Twickenham performed 6043 abortions 2016.
That's a drop of 17.5%

Every life is infinitely precious. Don't let them make us back off! Allow women real options!

Come to our vigils here. Donate to help the Mothers and babies we serve here.

Clare McCullough

113 MPs Demand Laws Which Will Increase Abortions

As one of several moves by Members of Parliament to increase the numbers of abortions in the UK, 113 MPs have asked the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, to intervene to stop pro-life vigils outside abortion centres.
These MPs in their wisdom, have not made any effort to meet with those women who have chosen life for their babies. They don't know who these women are, they don't care who these women are, or what pressures they face and why they are often very willing to choose life when offered support.
Here is Anna, one of the Mothers we have supported, who changed her mind at an abortion centre talking about the help she received.

And why she thinks help should be offered outside an abortion centre.

If the plans of those 113 MPs were already in place at that time Anna went for her abortion, her child would be dead.
Donate here to help us support Mothers in need. Come and pray at our vigils.

A Ban on Pro-Life Help in Ealing?

On Tuesday 10th October, Ealing Council voted in favour of a motion to do all in their legal means to end the peaceful, pro-life vigil outside Marie Stopes Ealing, which has been there for 23 years. This was in response to a petition by a local group Sister Supporter (SS) who have been protesting our vigils for the last 18 months.

If you want a quick reminder of who Sister Supporter are, this would be them in pink, harassing one of our Counsellors and filming the abortion centre entrance. The Good Counsel Network has been holding a daily vigil at Ealing since 2013, but the Helpers and a variety of other groups, have been holding regular vigils there for the last 23 years and more. There has never been a single arrest or charge raised against any of these groups because they do not attend the vigil to harass but to offer women help and to pray. To attend our vigils see details here.

None of Sister Supporter's "evidence" has been shown to the Good Counsel Network to this date, despite Rupa Huq MP offering to forward it on. Nor has a single Councillor contacted Good Counsel, or responded to our request that they speak to some of the Mothers who have sought our help outside Marie Stopes.

Rebutting claims made that pro-lifers harass women, Good Counsel's Director, Clare McCullough has been speaking about the work we do and what really happens at Ealing. Note how those speaking against her continually make unsubstantiated accusations and refuse to provide any evidence from the constantly present cctv cameras at the Marie Stopes Centre.

To provide support and help for the Mothers who are glad we are outside the centres offering help, and who choose life please donate here.

"Pro-Choice Feminists" Harass Pregnant Mums and Counsellors

Please share this picture far and wide, Sister Supporter the 'pro-choice, feminists' turned up at Ealing abortion centre today to film and record women entering Marie Stopes as our Counsellors speak to them. Here is one of their male 'feminists' filming a woman who has just entered, who our Counsellor to the left of the gate was speaking to. Do you think filming women entering Marie Stopes is OK? Do you think recording them speaking or choosing not to speak to a Counsellor is OK? This is what Rupa Huq the local MP has encouraged by supporting Sister Supporter protests.

And now Sister Supporter are standing in the street screaming that our Counsellors are filming women going in because we took photos of them filming women going in. God help us, I salute the two incredibly Christlike Counsellors there this morning.

Support a Pro-Life vigil and help women who need real help; http://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk/Abortion--apos-Clinic-apos--Vigils.html