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July 28, 1995
Honourable Colin Gableman
Ministry of Attorney General
Hon. Paul Ramsey
Minister of Health
Hon. Penny Priddy
Minister of Women's Equality
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4
Dear Ms. Priddy and Messrs. Ramsay and Gabelmann:
Re: Buffer Zone Legislation for Abortion Providers and Services
First we congratulate you on creating legislation which is supportive of women. It is well-drafted, asserting the rights of women by protecting abortion services and the right to choose, and is sensitive to the right to free speech.
We are particularly pleased because this will protect future abortion service providers from having to go through long stretches of anti-choice harassment and abuse in order to gather the necessary evidence to file for an injunction.
Our only concern is the issue of enforcement of the legislation by local law enforcement agencies. The past experience of free standing clinics has created a great deal of apprehension about the responses of police in dealing with anti-choice harassment. The experience of the two free standing abortion clinics is that the police see the clinics as one side of a debate between fanatical organizations rather than as a legitimate legal health service supported by the vast majority of Canadian people. It is our hope that this legislation will be taken very seriously by the police and will be acted on accordingly.
The B.C. Coalition for Abortion Clinics appreciates the New Democratic Party's moral courage and determination in its support of women's right to choose on abortion. It is apparent that the teamwork of the three ministries involved had a lot to do with this very positive piece of legislation. We thank you for all your efforts.
Yours truly,
Steering Committee Member
B.C. Coalition for Abortion Clinics