Friday 4th April 2025
Judgment was today (04/04/25) handed down in the case of Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion protester prosecuted under the local Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in place around BPAS Bournemouth.
Ms Tossici-Bolt was found guilty of two counts of breaching the PSPO.
Heidi Stewart, CEO of BPAS, said -
“BPAS welcomes today’s verdict which will protect women and the staff who provide abortion care.
“The clinic in Bournemouth has been subjected to many years of anti-abortion protests which resulted in more than 500 reports of harassment before this local safe access zone was brought into force. This case was never about global politics but about the simple ability of women to access legal healthcare free from harassment.
“It is up to the police and judicial system to determine whether individuals have broken the law. I, meanwhile, stand shoulder to shoulder with our staff who work so tirelessly to protect our patients from the impact of anti-abortion harassment outside the clinic gate.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact the BPAS press office on press@bpas.org or 07985 351751.
About BPAS
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, is a charity that sees over 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception at clinics across Great Britain.
BPAS exists to further women’s reproductive choices. We believe all women should have the right to make their own decisions in and around pregnancy, from the contraception they use to avoid pregnancy right the way through to how they decide to feed their newborn baby, with access to evidence-based information to underpin their choices and high-quality services and support to exercise them.
BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, CRRC. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. You can find out more here.