Peaceful pro-life protests and prayers outside abortion clinics in England and Wales could soon be illegal under proposals set out in the Public Order Bill.
Under an amendment to the Bill, put forward by Rupa Huq MP (see photo), anyone within an abortion clinic buffer zone who interferes with a pregnant woman going for an abortion faces up to two years in prison.
If the amendment is passed, anyone who is within the 150-metre buffer zone of an abortion clinic and ‘interferes’ with a woman’s decision to have an abortion will be committing an offence.
‘Interfere’ goes beyond harassing, intimidation and threatening behaviour to include anyone seeking to influence someone having an abortion; and would also include anyone informing her by ‘any means’ about the reality of abortion services.
It would also catch anyone pro-life who regularly occupies the buffer zone, for example, simply to pray or to witness and offer support to women as they go to the clinic.
Catherine Robinson, a spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said: ‘Huq’s amendment … is direct discrimination against a particular viewpoint. Legislation already exists to prevent harassment and intimidation, and wherever it exists, the law should be used to prevent it. Not only is this legislation draconian in its scope, there already exists legislation to deal with the alleged problem.’
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