The Act Overview
3.The Act creates the status of “protected premises” for buildings and places at which abortion services are provided and establishes a safe access zone for each of the protected premises. The Act makes it an offence to act in a certain way when within a safe access zone for protected premises. The Act also contains an offence in relation to acts done within, for example, a building situated inside the boundary of a safe access zone and the act is capable of being seen or heard by another person in the safe access zone. Provision is also made for exceptions to these offences.
4.The Act also creates a power to provide for other types of premises to become protected premises (by modifying the meaning of “protected premises”).(1) It also makes provision for changing the size of a safe access zone by extending or reducing it (but only where the Scottish Ministers consider it appropriate to do so). A safe access zone will only cease to operate when the protected premises stops providing abortion services. A list of protected premises and each related safe access zone is to be published and maintained by the Scottish Ministers.