{"id":245600,"date":"2021-05-21T11:43:19","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=245600"},"modified":"2023-11-14T20:15:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T02:15:03","slug":"uk-lawmaker-two-year-jail-pro-lifers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/uk-lawmaker-two-year-jail-pro-lifers\/","title":{"rendered":"UK lawmaker wants pro-lifers jailed for offering help to women seeking abortions"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Right to Life UK<\/a>)\u00a0Labour MP Rupa Huq has today introduced an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill<\/a> that would introduce censorship zones around abortion clinics nationwide.<\/p>\n

Potential jail sentences<\/a> of up to two years will be introduced for people who attempt to advise, persuade, or otherwise express opinion outside abortion clinics and hospitals offering abortion.<\/p>\n

Huq recently attempted to introduce a similar Bill through the Commons, but it failed<\/a> to pass after its Second Reading last September. While September\u2019s Bill had a low chance of becoming law, this amendment, if passed as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, has a much higher chance of becoming law.<\/p>\n

In April 2018<\/a>, the Council within Huq\u2019s constituency of Ealing unanimously approved the implementation of such a buffer zone, the first of its kind in the UK<\/a>. The Council decided<\/a> to renew this decision in February 2021.<\/p>\n

If passed, this amendment would not only prevent and criminalise the offering of practical and emotional support to women entering abortion clinics across England and Wales, but would threaten anyone implicated in such activities as liable for a prison sentence of up to two years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unnecessary legislation<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2017<\/a>, former Home Secretary Amber Rudd launched a review into the scale and nature of pro-life vigils outside abortion clinics to establish if the Government would recommend the introduction of censorship zones. In the investigation, continued by the succeeding Home Secretary Sajid Javid, over 2,500 responded to a call for evidence, including abortion service providers, abortion service clients, those engaging in pro-life vigils, police forces and local authorities.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Sajid Javid announced that the Home Office could not find adequate reason to introduce censorship zones, stating that<\/a>: \u201c\u2026introducing national buffer zones would not be a proportionate response, considering the experiences of the majority of hospitals and clinics, and considering that the majority of activities are more passive in nature. In making my decision, I am also aware that legislation already exists to restrict protest activities that cause harm to others\u201d.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Pro-abortion group calls for buffer zones around Northern Ireland abortion facilities<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opposition to censorship zones<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opposition to censorship zones extends beyond<\/a> pro-life advocates to unite a large part of society who may not agree with the pro-life position on abortion but who oppose censorship zones as a threat to freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

Despite supporting abortion, a number of prominent human rights groups and campaigners have spoken out against the introduction of censorship zones. These include Peter Tatchell<\/a>, the Manifesto Club<\/a>, Big Brother Watch,<\/a> Index on Censorship<\/a>and the Freedom Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Be Here for Me website<\/a> highlights just a few of the many stories of women who have been helped by people outside abortion clinics, and the stories of women who could miss out on such support in the future.<\/p>\n

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: \u201cBy attempting to prevent women considering abortion from receiving compassionate emotional and practical support, the \u2018pro-choice\u2019 lobby reveals their opposition to real choice for women\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only would this amendment set a chilling precedent for pro-life and all other forms of peaceful demonstration, but it is completely at odds with the opinion of the British public, 85%<\/a>of which agree that \u201cthe right to free speech, even when we disagree with what is being said\u201d is a valuable liberty which is important to defend\u201d.
\n\u201cGiven that Dr Huq\u2019s own admission<\/a> that \u201cterminating a pregnancy is one of the most difficult and harrowing experiences a woman can go through\u201d, why then is she, and many of her colleagues, seeking to criminalise the peaceful expression of opposition to her views, through which many women have found help and support?\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This article was published at Right to Life UK<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Right to Life UK)\u00a0Labour MP Rupa Huq has today introduced an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that would introduce censorship zones around abortion clinics nationwide. Potential jail sentences of up to two years will be introduced for people who attempt to advise, persuade, or otherwise express opinion outside abortion clinics and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":669,"featured_media":245608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2793,7077,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nUK lawmaker wants pro-lifers jailed for offering help to women seeking abortions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Labour MP Rupa Huq has introduced an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that would bring censorship zones to all abortion centers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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