Abortion Clinics Vigils and Protests - Research
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Abortion Clinics Vigils and Protests - Research
IRAS ID
320854
Contact name
Caroline Musandire
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Scottish Government
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
The Scottish Government, on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, has commissioned Rocket Science to undertake research to enhance its understanding of the prevalence and impact of vigils/protests that take place outside of abortion clinics within Scotland. The research will aim to produce new data from a variety of respondents in order to develop a detailed picture of current practices and experiences of vigils/protests outside abortion clinics in different localities across Scotland. This will be used to inform Scottish Government policy on vigils and protests outside abortion clinics.
The research will look to answer three questions:
1. To understand the effects on women accessing NHS clinics for abortion services and employment, on days when protests or vigils occur.
2. To understand the effects on staff delivering care and treatment with NHS clinics on days when protests or vigils occur.3. To understand the prevalence and scale of protests and vigils outside clinics offering abortion services in Scotland.
Summary of Results
This summary brings together the findings from the research in relation to the three overarching research aims.
1) To understand the prevalence, frequency and scale of vigils and protests which occur outside of healthcare facilities providing abortions.
It has not been possible to provide a conclusive assessment of the prevalence and frequency of vigils and protests outside clinics and hospitals that provide abortion healthcare. Despite this, the research found some evidence to suggest that protests and vigils were occurring on a regular basis, particularly within urban areas such as Greater Glasgow and Clyde. There is also evidence to suggest that the frequency of protests and vigils varies substantially.
2) To understand the impact of vigils and protests on patients’ ability to, and experiences of, accessing abortion services in Scotland.
It would appear that protest and vigil activity are perceived to negatively impact upon the care delivered by NHS staff. Participants also identified resource implications for services, including extra time required to obtain consent as a result of patients feeling a need to justify their care choices, contacting patients to make them aware of activity on days they are due to attend for care, and the development of action plans to manage protests/vigils.
3) To understand the perspective and motivations of those involved in protests and/or vigils.
The research team sought to examine the perspectives of people who organise, and/or attend protests and vigils to better understand their motivations. Despite a multi-pronged approach to participant recruitment, however, there was a low response rate (n=4). The low response rate means that it is not possible to draw conclusions about motivation from the primary research. To address some of these limitations, the research team conducted a digital and social media analysis, which is presented in chapter two of this report. The rapid evidence review (Appendix two) also examined motivations. Taken together, both research outputs provide some insights into the potential motivations of people who participate in, and/or who organise protests or vigils outside clinics and hospitals that provide abortion healthcare in Scotland.
These findings suggest that while motivations are individualised, there are some common themes. These are:
A belief that human life begins at conception, and a desire to express this view as ‘truth’ to raise awareness.
A belief that motherhood is the ‘natural’ and/or pre-destined state for a woman, and that she would not choose abortion if she knew of alternatives.
The motivation linked to this belief is a motivation to provide alternatives, and to educate.
A motivation to provide women emotional, financial and/or practical support to reduce the likelihood of her choosing abortion.
A desire to engage in prayer and to be present at the site where abortions take place.
A motivation to be present as a sign for women who may be unsure about their decision.REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
23/WS/0013
Date of REC Opinion
10 Mar 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion