AN EXTREMIST sect of the Catholic Church protesting against terminations has prompted a retired obstetrician and women's health advocate to campaign for exclusion zones around NSW termination clinics to protect a woman's medical privacy.
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Rights To Privacy, Albury (RTPA) launched in July a statewide petition to introduce a protest exclusion zone around women's medical centres in response to weekly protests at Albury's Englehardt Street Fertility Clinic.
RTPA spokesman Associate Professor Dr Pieter Mourik AM, a retired gynaecologist and obstetrician with 40 years of women's health advocacy, said about one-third of the 300,000 odd women in the clinic's catchment made the 600km return trip to Melbourne to undertake the same procedure performed by the same doctor to avoid the protesters.
Dr Mourik said a small group of up to 10 people from the American-based group Helpers of God's Precious Infants (HoGPI) would converge outside the Albury clinic and bully women seen to be using the clinic with unwarranted and inaccurate information.
He believed the protesters, who took photographs and identifed the women to violate their medical privacy, caused more emotional damage than the procedure itself.
The clinic only performs early termination, that refers to up to 12 weeks of a pregnancy and 90 per cent of procedures are under nine weeks.
Dr Mourik refuted protesters' beliefs that a termination was murdering an unborn child because a pregnancy was only considered a foetus after 20 weeks.
"They are dishonest," he said of protesters.
"They said they're there to prayfully protest.
"They're doing it as a harassment.
"It's an intimidation ... This is the bullying tactics.
"They're breeding the next generation of bigots.
"They're absolutely beligerent.
"You cannot have a logical conversation with these people."
Dr Mourik's attempt to bring the issue to Albury City Council saw a petition in March draw 5500 signatures, but council maintained its resolve to only reconsider council by-laws on an exclusion zone in 2018.
He estimated 80 per cent of politicans were in favour of early-stage abortions and expected it would emerge as an election issue given its traction to date.
"I believe (women's reproductive health) is going to be an election issue," he said.
"Medical privacy is sacrament.
"This is why the government needs legislation to oppose religious fanatics.
"I totally respect a person's view."
Dr Mourik said women from Wagga visited the clinic because there was no clinic closer that currently offered terminations.
"I'd say ... cover up, wear a disguise because these bastards are filming," he added.
The clinic has the support of all 14 specialist gynaecologists in the region that includes Wagga and Wangaratta.
Hobart was successful in obtaining an exclusion zone last year and RTPA's petition requires 10,000 signatures before it can be presented to parliament.
Family Planning NSW representatives and Women's Health NSW chief Denele Crozier are the lead runners for the petition, while Mehreen Faruqi has indicated she was preparing a private members' bill.
"It's going gangbusters," Dr Mourkik said.
"The reason for that is social media."
The petition can be found at Rights to Privacy, Albury Facebook page or email alburychoice@gmail.com