Holyrood hears evidence from campaigners against buffer zones outside abortion clinics
A mother has praised the support she received from pro-life activists outside an abortion centre, saying they gave her the “hope” she was searching for and had it not been for them her “beautiful daughter would not be here today”.
Alina Dulgheriu shared her personal experience with Holyrood’s health, social care and sport committee as it takes evidence on a bill that is aiming to create 200m buffer zones outside abortion clinics.
In recent weeks, the committee has heard from those generally in favour of the legislation.
On Tuesday, those against the bill were given an opportunity to have their say.
Ms Dulgheriu told the committee: “In 2011, I was single, abandoned, facing unemployment and terrified when I discovered I was pregnant.”
‘Pro-life vigil gave me the hope I was searching for’
Ms Dulgheriu said she booked an appointment for an abortion as she didn’t seem to have any other option as she had “little in the way of financial or emotional support”.
She said: “I wanted to keep her, but I didn’t know how, so my hope rapidly began to fade.
“The day that I turned up to my abortion appointment, a volunteer outside the clinic gently gave me a leaflet.
“Somewhere beneath the palpable anxiety and pressure, I felt it provided me with exactly what I was longing for.
“Some would say I already [chose] abortion, but the truth is I didn’t choose it. The pro-life vigil gave me the hope I was searching for.
“Had I not received the support from volunteers, my beautiful daughter would not have been here today.”
An anti-abortion protest, organised by 40 Days For Life, near the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow last month. Pic: PA
Ms Dulgheriu said she weighed up the two options and “chose motherhood”.
She added: “I chose to accept help. It wasn’t easy, but with the support of the group who had given me that leaflet, I could not be [prouder] of the life my daughter and I have charted [together].”
Ms Dulgheriu said “hundreds of women” have benefited from the same kind of support.
She added: “It is worrying that we will consider denying vulnerable women access to this potentially life-changing information, especially when facing one of the most challenging decisions of their lives that could have lasting ramifications on their mental and physical health.”
‘Pro-lifers demonised’
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, co-director of March for Life UK, said she has been praying near abortion centres and speaking to women and couples for around 20 years.
She told the committee: “We know many, many women who felt empowered to make the choice they wanted to make to continue their pregnancy because of the support we offered them, which might be financial support, accommodation, childcare, friendship, baby goods, private medical care, etc.
“Essentially services not offered by the abortion providers.”
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, co-director of March for Life UK, pictured last year. Pic: PA
Ms Vaughan-Spruce said campaign leaders would willingly work with authorities to condemn harassment.
She added: “To my experience, any women who have been anxious going for an abortion – apart from concerns about the abortion itself – were anxious about what they thought we might do because of the negative and twisted stories that are written about pro-lifers.
“What people hear or read about us is the chief cause of anxiety.”
Ms Vaughan-Spruce claimed her volunteers have been “screamed at, spat at, sworn at, even physically assaulted”.
She added: “Pro-lifers have been demonised. We’ve even had politicians calling us perverts. This has got to stop.”
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What are abortion clinic buffer zones?
Read more from Sky News:
MPs fear watering down of buffer zone rules at abortion clinics
France becomes first country in 50 years to make abortion a constitutional right
Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay is behind the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill.
Ms Mackay said the buffer zones will “stop the intimidating protests”.
Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay. Pic: PA
She added: “My heart and my solidarity is with the people who are being forced to pass a gauntlet of placards and banners.
“The protesters know about the impact that they are having. They know that people feel judged, intimidated and harassed. Do they not care that they are making so many people feel this way?
“They have seen all of the same testimonies and evidence that I have. Nobody should have to go through that to access healthcare.
“I urge all of the protesters to consider their own roles and the awful impact of their words and their banners.
“They can protest outside our parliament by all means, but to knowingly target people who are often in a vulnerable place is utterly wrong, and I am determined that my bill will put a stop to it.”
Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.
Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.
However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.
“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:
“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”
Source: Raoul Pal
“Also, the US is trying to shut down China tariff arbitrage using other channels such as Mexico or Vietnam,” Pal said.
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China retaliates with new tariffs
Considering China’s latest retaliatory measures, a resolution remains unlikely in the short term.
In response to US tariffs, China imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports effective April 10, media outlet Xinhua News reported on April 4. China’s foreign ministry also vowed to “fight till the end” against Trump’s tariffs, which it called “bullying” by the world’s largest economy.
China overtakes the US in global trade. Source: Econovis
China overtook the US in 2012 to become the world’s largest trading nation by the total value of exports and imports, surpassing $4 trillion in goods trade that year, according to The Guardian.
Crypto markets watch trade outcome closely
As the trade dispute continues to evolve, analysts say a potential agreement between the two global superpowers could serve as a key catalyst for recovery in digital asset markets.
Crypto markets have a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.
Related: Crypto market bottom likely by June despite tariff fears: Finance Redefined
Investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin will depend on the global tariff responses from other countries, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.
“We have reached somewhat of a local bottom in regard to tariffs and the impact on prices,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:
“Trump came out guns blazing, and we’ve mostly seen the worst from the US side, so we’ll see if other countries are willing to drop some of the tariffs because it’s very likely the US will do the same.”
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A Nigerian court has reportedly delayed the country’s tax evasion case against Binance until April 30 to give time for Nigeria’s tax authority to respond to a request from the crypto exchange.
Reuters reported on April 7 that a lawyer for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, asked a court the same day to invalidate an order allowing for court documents to be served to the company via email.
Binance doesn’t have an office in Nigeria and Ikwuazom claimed the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) didn’t get court permission to serve court documents to Binance outside the country.
“On the whole the order for the substituted service as granted by the court on February 11, 2025 on Binance who is … registered under the laws of Cayman Islands and resident in Cayman Islands is improper and should be set aside,” he said.
FIRS sued Binance in February, claiming the exchange owed $2 billion in back taxes and should be made to pay $79.5 billion for damages to the local economy as its its operations allegedly destabilized the country’s currency, the naira, which Binance denies.
It also reportedly alleged that Binance is liable to pay corporate income tax in Nigeria, as it has a “significant economic presence” there, with FIRS requesting a court order for the exchange to pay income taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% annual penalty on unpaid amounts along with a nearly a 27% interest rate on the unpaid taxes.
Nigeria’s legal history with Binance
In February 2024, Nigeria arrested and detained Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla on tax fraud and money laundering charges. The country dropped the tax charges against both in June and the remaining charge against Gambaryan in October.
Tigran Gambaryan (right) was seen in a September video struggling to walk into a courtroom in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Source: X
Anjarwalla managed to slip his guards and escape Nigerian custody to Kenya in March last year and is apparently still at large.
Related: Binance exec shares details about release from Nigerian detention
Gambaryan, a US citizen, returned home in October after reports suggested his health had deteriorated during his detainment with reported cases of pneumonia, malaria and a herniated spinal disc that may need surgery.
Binance stopped its naira currency deposits and withdrawals in March 2024, effectively leaving the Nigerian market.
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