The Northern Secretary, Dr Mowlam, yesterday visited the Brook Advisory Centre in Belfast, which has been picketed by right-wing and anti-abortion groups, and praised it for providing family planning services, writes Suzanne Breen. The Ulster Pregnancy Advisory Association was forced to close recently after violent attacks on its offices and pickets outside members' homes.
Dr Mowlam said it was "government policy that young women and men have a right to the information and advice they need to make good decisions about their own sexual relationships and to attend this centre without intimidation and harassment".
She said there was "a long history of harassment and intimidation in Northern Ireland which must not be allowed to be part of our future".