{"id":278122,"date":"2022-10-20T06:36:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T11:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=278122"},"modified":"2023-11-06T16:34:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T22:34:40","slug":"uk-abortion-facility-buffer-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/uk-abortion-facility-buffer-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"UK bill hijacked with amendment to enact abortion facility buffer zones"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/bill-hijacked-to-introduce-abortion-buffer-zones\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Right to Life UK<\/a>) [On October 18], MPs voted by 297 votes to 110 in support of an amendment to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bills.parliament.uk\/bills\/3153\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Order Bill<\/a>\u00a0to introduce \u2018buffer zones\u2019 around abortion clinics nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of women have been helped outside abortion clinics by pro-life volunteers who have provided them with practical support, which made it clear to them that they had another option other than going through with the abortion.<\/p>\n<p>If the Public Order Bill passes all its stages in the Commons and Lords, as is likely to be the case, given it is a Government Bill, the vital practical support provided by volunteers outside abortion clinics will be removed for women.<\/p>\n<p><b>URGENT:\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/give.liveaction.org\/future-of-abortion\/?utm_source=lan&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=minibomb\"><b><i>For every dollar given, 34 more people can be reached with the truth about abortion. Will you join us in this life-saving work as a monthly donor today?<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Conservative Government did not whip against the amendment, which meant that they did not ensure that their MPs voted against the amendment. In 2021, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/major-pro-life-victory-attempt-to-introduce-abortion-on-demand-for-any-reason-up-to-birth-fails\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">similar amendment<\/a>\u00a0was brought forward by Rupa Huq MP to a Government Bill, but for that amendment, the Government whipped against it on the grounds that it was a public order issue.<\/p>\n<p>If the Government had done the same this afternoon and whipped against this amendment, it is very unlikely that it would have passed.<\/p>\n<p>Constituents around the country can find out where their MP voted on the amendment on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/votes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Where Do They Stand voting record platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MPs speak in opposition to law change<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the debate this afternoon, a number of MPs spoke in opposition to the amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Carla Lockhart MP emphasised that \u201cWe already have laws on the statute book to prevent harassment and maintain public order, including laws in place to ensure women are not harassed or intimidated outside abortion clinics\u201d. She also shared the testimony of women who had been helped by volunteers outside abortion clinics.<\/p>\n<p>She referred to the story of one mother, Alina Dulgheriu, who explained that \u201c\u2018her beautiful daughter would not be here today\u2019 without support from a volunteer handing out a leaflet outside the clinic\u201d. Lockhart also recounted the story of another woman who \u201cwas \u2018under immense pressure\u2019 to go through with her abortion. But on her way into the abortion clinic, a woman handed her a leaflet and simply said that \u2018she was there if [she] needed her\u2019. Her conversation with this woman gave her the support and confidence she needed to keep her baby\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Fiona Bruce MP pointed to the amendment\u2019s broad implications that \u201ccontravenes the basic principle of certainty of the rule of law\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>She compared handing out leaflets in front of an abortion clinic to an MP handing out leaflets at election time \u2013 Parliamentarians would be \u201caghast\u201d if their leafleting were met with a fine and imprisonment, and should equally be \u201caghast\u201d that the amendment targets \u201cpeople with faith-based views\u201d. She pointedly asked, \u201cWhen did it become against the law in this country to pray?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sir Edward Leigh MP expressed surprise that \u201cwe are debating this again\u201d for \u201c[i]t was only in 2018 when the Home Office concluded there was no need to introduce so-called \u2018buffer zones\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He stressed that before Parliament \u201crush[ed] to create new laws \u2026 it is only right that the Government expects the police and local authorities to use their current powers appropriately and where necessary\u201d. Sir Edward urged Parliament to turn to existing laws to address any incidences of harassment outside abortion clinics.<\/p>\n<p>Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Hundreds of women have been helped outside abortion clinics by pro-life volunteers who have provided them with practical support, which made it clear to them that they had another option other than going through with the abortion. This passing of this amendment means that the vital practical support provided by volunteers outside abortion clinics will be removed for women and many more lives will likely be lost to abortion.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>While the majority of the MPs who voted for the amendment were Labour MPs, it is important to note that the Conservative Government did not choose to whip on this issue, which meant that they did not ensure that their MPs voted against the amendment. In 2021, a similar amendment was brought forward by Rupa Huq MP to a Government Bill, but for that amendment, the Government whipped against it on the grounds that it was a public order issue. If the Government had done the same today, and whipped against this amendment, it is very unlikely that it would have passed.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s Note: This article was originally published at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/bill-hijacked-to-introduce-abortion-buffer-zones\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Right to Life UK<\/a>\u00a0and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-277267\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/pledge-live-action-ad-970x250-700x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"180\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Right to Life UK) [On October 18], MPs voted by 297 votes to 110 in support of an amendment to the\u00a0Public Order Bill\u00a0to introduce \u2018buffer zones\u2019 around abortion clinics nationwide. Hundreds of women have been helped outside abortion clinics by pro-life volunteers who have provided them with practical support, which made it clear to them [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":669,"featured_media":256534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2793,7077,5,3473],"tags":[5846,2580,10291,10120],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UK Parliament supports amendment for abortion facility buffer zones<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If the Public Order Bill passes all its stages in the Commons and Lords, as is likely, the vital support provided by sidewalk counselors will be removed.\" \/>\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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