POLICE did not respond after being called to a fringe group of anti-abortion protesters who were breaching Scotland’s buffer zone regulations.
The Scottish Family Party – who, as well as wanting to see abortion rights rolled back, oppose same-sex marriage, sperm and egg donation, and the clause banning harassment in the Equality Act – held a small-scale protest outside the public entrance to the Chalmers Centre in Edinburgh on Saturday evening.
Scotland’s buffer zone laws are intended to prevent anti-abortion protests from taking place within 200 metres of a centre where abortion services are provided.
Under the legislation – Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024 – it does not matter if the service centre is open or closed when the protest takes place.
For an offence to have been committed, the anti-abortion protesters must “act with the intention of, or [be] reckless as to whether the act has the effect of, influencing the decision of another person to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services at the protected premises”.
The Scottish Family Party shared a photo of six protesters stood outside the Chalmers Centre on Saturday evening, well within the mapped buffer zone.
They were alongside signs saying “unborn lives matter” and claiming that “2392 lives [had been] lost to abortion in one year”.
Party leader Richard Lucas was not in the image but was also claimed to have been present.
Writing on social media, the fringe group said: “We were reported to @PoliceScotland repeatedly, but they didn't even turn up, because they knew that we were not breaking the law.”
They claimed that Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who was instrumental in bringing the buffer zones law into effect, was spreading “misinformation” by claiming that the legislation applies even when the clinic is closed. The Chalmers Centre is not open on weekends.
However, as outlined above, the law does in fact apply regardless of whether or not the clinic is currently open.
Police Scotland confirmed that they had been called – but suggested they did not respond because to do so would not have been proportionate.
A spokesperson for the force said: “We were made aware of a group having gathered in the Chalmers Street area of Edinburgh around 8pm on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
“Every incident is unique and officers will respond proportionately to reports of anyone breaching Safe Access Zone legislation by engaging with them, explaining the law, and encouraging compliance before moving to enforcement if necessary.”
The news comes after the Scottish Family Party held another protest inside the buffer zone around the Aberdeen Community Health and Care Village – at which it was challenged by multiple women.
The fringe party was corrected by Police Scotland after it wrongly claimed that, because the clinic was closed, they were not technically within any buffer zone.
In Glasgow, protesters from the US 40 Days for Life group have held demonstrations near Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
In February, a 74-year-old anti-abortion activist taking part in one such event became the first person in Scotland to be arrested under the buffer zones law.
