Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024

Offences relating to safe access zones

4 Offence of influencing, preventing access or causing harassment etc. in safe access zone

(1) A person who is in a safe access zone for protected premises commits an offence if the person does an act with the intention of, or is reckless as to whether the act has the effect of—

(a) influencing the decision of another person to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services at the protected premises,

(b) preventing or impeding another person from accessing, providing or facilitating the provision of abortion services at the protected premises, or

(c) causing harassment, alarm or distress to another person in connection with the other person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services at the protected premises,

where in each case the other person is in the safe access zone for the purpose of accessing, providing or facilitating the provision of abortion services at the protected premises.

(2) Where a person does an act in a safe access zone constituting an offence under subsection (1) and the act has a continuing effect, it does not matter for the purpose of that subsection whether the other person referred to in the subsection is in the safe access zone at the time the person does the act.

(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

5 Offence of influencing, preventing access or causing harassment etc. in area visible or audible from safe access zone

(1) A person who is in a relevant area relating to protected premises commits an offence if the person—

(a) does an act that is capable of being seen or heard by another person who is within the safe access zone for the protected premises, and

(b) does so with the intention of, or is reckless as to whether the act has the effect of—

(i) influencing the decision of another person to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services at the protected premises,

(ii) preventing or impeding another person from accessing, providing or facilitating the provision of abortion services at the protected premises, or

(iii) causing harassment, alarm or distress to another person in connection with the other person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services at the protected premises,

where in each case the other person is in the safe access zone for the protected premises for the purpose of accessing, providing or facilitating the provision of abortion services at the protected premises.

(2) In subsection (1), the reference to an act that is capable of being seen or heard by another person does not include an act that is capable of being seen or heard by the other person only indirectly by means of seeing or hearing a recording or transmission of the act received by the other person by electronic means.

(3) Where a person does an act in a relevant area relating to protected premises constituting an offence under subsection (1) and the act has a continuing effect, it does not matter for the purpose of that subsection whether any other person referred to in the subsection is in the safe access zone for the protected premises at the time the person does the act.

(4) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(5) In this section, “relevant area”, in relation to protected premises, means an area that is not a public area (within the meaning of section 2(7)) forming part of the safe access zone for the protected premises but which is situated within the area between the protected premises and the boundary of the safe access zone.

6 Exceptions to offences

A person does not commit an offence under section 4(1) or 5(1) where the person does anything in the course of—

(a) accompanying with permission another person who is accessing (or attempting to access) abortion services at protected premises but only to the extent that the person’s act affects the other person,

(b) providing, or facilitating the provision of, abortion services at protected premises,

(c) providing other health care at protected premises,

(d) engaging in conduct that is lawful under section 220 (peaceful picketing) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.