“She Trusts You, Right?”

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The Times Ireland edition reports:

American anti-abortion activists are planning to set up a major sister operation targeting women outside every hospital and GP clinic offering terminations in Ireland, an undercover investigation by The Times, Ireland edition has found.

Ellen Coyne, of The Times Ireland edition, explains:

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50 thoughts on ““She Trusts You, Right?”

  1. phil

    This would assume that the women they intersect would be easily manipulated , Id doubt they would have any success here….

  2. Daisy Chainsaw

    Nothing less than what I’d expect from dangerous fundies. They can’t be far off blowing up a surgery or murdering a doctor at this stage.

    1. Dr.Fart MD

      it’ll probably get to that at some stage. Their Americans, violence isn’t far down the list of go-to response for that warrior breed.

        1. Dr.Fart MD

          jesus. that’s horrific. harsh punishments have to be dealt out to deter people doin this, or they’ll always be at it.

  3. Grace

    Great undercover work there –
    I would hope that kind of crazy initiative wouldn’t work here though- is there enough youth defense types to make much of a presence across the country??

    Plus I don’t think that US activist understands the exhaustive debate we have had around the right to have an abortion – we decided as a society that is up to the women to decide what to do for herself. Hopefully that will give any women targeted the belief and confidence to tell these harassing meddlers to F off.

  4. Dr.Fart MD

    it’ll probably get to that at some stage. Their Americans, violence isn’t far down the list of go-to response for that warrior breed.

  5. newsjustin

    “Pro-lifers under the bed” campaigning reporting from The Times.

    Only obvious solution is to limit freedom of peaceful protest. Despite there being laws to protect against threats, harassment, intimidation. No, people standing on the street outside hospitals must be banned….because…eh….America.

    1. Grace

      Well this isn’t just people standing outside hospitals with protest signs, it’s anti-choicers specifically seeking out women to tell them lies and falsehoods, and manipulate them to change their minds on having an abortion.
      That is really creepy and intimidating, and should not be permitted here.

    2. Daisy Chainsaw

      You can’t reason with zealots which is why they have to be moved back from decent people going about their day. The laws against threats, harassment and intimidation don’t exist to so called “prolife” who just ignore them and attack vulnerable women and girls already dealilng with a difficult situation so they have to be kept back to keep women safe from attack. Bribe attempts with lipstick and some chocolate show the contempt these people have for women, seeing us as venal and shallow and easily bought. The lies failed, the bribery will too and by setting them back from hospital grounds it will save women from the inevitable violence and intimidation that comes with these antichoice tactics.

      1. newsjustin

        “The laws against threats, harassment and intimidation don’t exist to so called “prolife” who just ignore them and attack vulnerable women and girls…”

        They do of course exist. They should be enforced.

        1. Daisy Chainsaw

          How would you enforce stopping so called “prolife” supporters harassing and intimidating women?

    3. millie st murderlark

      Poor, poor effort by you, and shame on you if you think this is an acceptable response to women having abortions in Ireland.

      1. newsjustin

        I don’t. As I think you know.

        But a silent peaceful protest should not be banned, as it is an appropriate response (even if you disagree with it…which is the nature of protests).

        1. Robert

          Totally should, outside a hospital. Nobody has any business protesting outside a hospital.

          If it turns out that there is actually a need for that well, I guess we’ll have that discussion then.

          1. newsjustin

            Except for the silent, peaceful ones.

            You’re as certain of your own biases as those you rail against for theirs.

          2. Daisy Chainsaw

            It’s very telling that you’re okay with vulnerable women and medical staff being intimidated by people holding up pictures calling them murderers.

            Graffitiing a Longford practice was a silent protest too.

          3. newsjustin

            That graffiti was a criminal act.

            I’m not ok with anyone being intimidate. But I am ok (and a supporter of) the right to public assembly and peaceful protest.

          1. newsjustin

            It was. This type of “American” activity used as a rallying cry to ban ANY protest against abortion at abortion providers.

            I presume you’re not actually in favour of banning peaceful protest Millie?

          2. millie st murderlark

            And, who exactly is touting for a ban against protests?

            I didn’t see that mentioned in anything I’ve read so far, other than your comments. Could you maybe explain?

          3. Daisy Chainsaw

            Exclusion zones are put up around Kildare St all the time for protests. It’s a ban from an immediate area, not a ban on protesting.

            But it’s not a proper protest if you can’t call a teenage girl a murderer to her face, right?

  6. Ian-O

    I would imagine if these people are not on the hospital grounds for either medical care or visiting, they can be legally ejected?

    If it has to be done several times, a barring order to stop them entering for anything but proper reasons should suffice, keep breaking it, imprison them.

    Nobody has the right to harass people coming to or from medical appointment and as a country, I think this was implicit in the referendum result as well?

    1. newsjustin

      Nobody has the right to harass anyone anywhere.

      The clamour for a ban on peaceful protest is another classic case of where many Broadsheet commentators lose all sense of which way up is.

      People would be rightly disgusted if there was an attempt to ban peaceful protest against water meters, or in support of trade disputes. But such care for the basics of democratic, peaceful protest is cast aside once abortion is at stake.

      1. millie st murderlark

        Again, who wants a ban newsjustin? The first mention I see of it is from you.

        Banning this kind of interference from outside groups at hospitals is very different.

          1. newsjustin

            Just banning it in the case of something you don’t think should be protested. So it’s fine to let it slide. I’m sure there’s no reason to worry that banning one aspect of peaceful protest will in any way impact peaceful protests that you have an interst in. No, that would never happen.

      2. Nigel

        Who’s clamouring for a ban on peaceful protest? People are objecting to this intrusive callous harassment, and you keep switching to peaceful protest. In other words you keep linking the two, which, if anything, is dangerous to your own argument, since surely peaceful protestors would be at pains to distance themselves from this harassment, unless it was merely one of a range of tactics pushing at boundaries and testing official limits. People OBJECT to protests outside hospitals the same way they object to protests outside private homes or, say, at funerals, so they are discouraged through being counterproductive and causing public backlash against the protestors. This kind of harassment, however, is indefensible, and not a means of protest but a targeted campaign at individual women, and measures may have to be taken to protect vulnerable patients, hopefully ones that will minimally affect the public right to peaceful assembly.

        1. newsjustin

          See my posts above Nigel.

          Those promoting a ban on peaceful protest at abortion providers are doing what you are talking about…..conflating peaceful protest with unsavoury harassment (or even illegal harassment and violence).

          1. Nigel

            An exclusion zone to protect patients does not seem unreasonable, and does not preclude peaceful protests at the limit of the zone. In fact, it seems like a decent compromise.

      3. Ian-O

        Why the dishonesty? I was extremely clear in what I say above in relation to people being on hospital grounds for reasons other than the usual, that being attending as a patient or visiting a patient.

        As for ‘peaceful protest’, again, not seeing who is in favour of banning this, I do know (as should you) that this article is about a very specific practice whereby falsehoods are put to vulnerable people by agents from outside the state.

        They appear to be using the car parks of hospitals to spread fear and lies about abortion and generally upset people.

        But you have decided to take a very specific issue and magnify it out of proportion to fit the narrative you want to talk about. Sorry but nobody is buying that bullcrap. If people want to protest abortion services, protest at the Dail or similar locations, get a permit and walk up and down O’Connell St. and I will fully support their right to do so. But we are not talking about this, you know we are not yet you consciously skew the thread to fit a different scenario so you can make points you want to make and make claims you want to make irrespective of how irrelevant they might be.

        But then, I expect little else from the staunch defenders of a very, very specific type of morality.

        Good day to you.

        1. newsjustin

          Ian. I’m sorry, my post was only partly in response to your specific point re hospital grounds.

          It was a more general response regarding the real calls to ban any and all protests near abortion providers. I’ve linked to media reporting of these calls. I’m surprised that there seems to be such lack of awareness of these calls….and the eager response to meet these calls with bans.

          Look, here’s some more:
          https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/harris-to-legislate-for-safe-zones-around-abortion-services-1.3723069?mode=amp

          https://www.oceanfm.ie/2019/01/04/donegal-abortion-rights-group-calls-for-exclusion-zones-at-gp-clinics/

          https://www.buzz.ie/news/call-exclusion-zones-second-abortion-clinic-protest-316722

          https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0107/1021749-drogheda-hospital/

  7. eoin

    You can get the Times and Sunday Times at the minute for €5 a month with the first month free, which looks like €55 for a year. That’s for online access. The papers would cost you €800 +

    Okay, most of it is yesterday’s news or the dubious opinions of randomers, but they do a decent amount of this investigative stuff and that’s becoming rarer and rarer in Irish media. I think they deserve a bit of support.

  8. Daisy Chainsaw

    I wonder if people stood at the entrance to a church car park, a scout hall or a swimming club holding banners calling people going in accessories to paedophilia, would there be a call for exclusion zones then?

    1. newsjustin

      People can call for it all they like, but it’s when senior Government Ministers start to tell the country they’re working on the legislation to ban such protests (as Simon Harris has assured us in the case of abortion related protests) is when I’d start to worry.

      1. ReproBertie

        Why worry? I have no issue with these exclusion zones. People have a right to seek medical care and go to work without being harassed.

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