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I will go to Ruth Maguire next, then to David Torrance and Ross Greer, but I have a question to ask first.

I want to get this clear in my head, and from the questions that members have asked, it does not sound as though everyone else is clear about it. If, after the bill is made law, a woman who is accessing the services sees one, two or even three people standing in the 200m exclusion zone and she is concerned that they might be praying silently, will she be able to make a complaint to the police or the authorities that she feels intimidated by those individuals without knowing why they happen to be standing in that exclusion zone?

I absolutely understand that, but I am trying to get a clear and practical example in my head. One, two or three people are standing in the zone for whatever reason. They are not carrying placards, vocally protesting or handing out leaflets; they are just standing there, but a woman who happens to be accessing services sees that group of people, or even just an individual, standing there and interprets that as them standing there silently praying, without any overt sign of that. That woman can then complain to the police that she felt intimidated by an individual being on the street.

Am I correct in saying that, if there was an incident within the 200m zone, you might then look to expand the zone further out?

Thank you, Mr Greer.

When I was referring to potential criminal matters, that would be within the 200m that the bill, if passed, would cover.

We continue our consideration of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill by taking evidence from the member in charge of the bill, Gillian Mackay.

I welcome to the meeting Gillian Mackay and, from the Scottish Government, Simon Cuthbert-Kerr, who is the deputy director for public health capabilities, and Ruth Wilson, who is a senior policy adviser.

I understand that Ms Mackay wishes to make a short opening statement.

Thank you, minister. We now move to questions from members.

You alluded to changes to healthcare provision and the way in which it is delivered. If, in the future, there was a decision to expand the definition to include general practices, as Sandesh Gulhane touched on earlier, and places such as pharmacies, would there be a consultation on that?

I thank Emily Ottley for her research and her attendance at the meeting.

I suspend the meeting to allow for a changeover of witnesses.

Welcome back. The next item on our agenda is our first evidence session on the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill. Before I begin, I will provide a brief introduction to the session.

The evidence that we will hear will relate to the proposed establishment of safe access zones and we will hear from individuals with lived experience as part of that. As such, some of the content of the meeting may be sensitive or potentially distressing and the committee encourages anyone affected by the issues discussed to seek support. If anyone attending needs to take a break during the session, please indicate that to me or the clerks.

I welcome to the meeting Alice Murray, Lily Roberts and Lucy Grieve, the co-founders of Back Off Scotland; Rachael Clarke, chief of staff at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service; and Dr Rebecca Mason, research and policy lead at The Young Women’s Movement.

I thank all the witnesses for coming along to give evidence to the meeting. I know that some of you are sharing personal experiences with the committee and we really appreciate you joining us to help inform our scrutiny of the bill. Please note that there is no pressure or expectation to share anything that you are not comfortable with. Again, please let us know if you would like to take a break at any point.

Alice Murray and Lily Roberts will begin by setting out their views on the proposed establishment of safe access zones and how that relates to their experience. I invite Alice to speak first.