{"id":319015,"date":"2024-09-20T16:40:13","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T21:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=319015"},"modified":"2024-09-20T13:45:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T18:45:45","slug":"britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-life groups slam Britain’s abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The pro-life battle to defend the lives of preborn babies is facing yet another challenge in Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s Britain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the <\/span>Public Order Act<\/span><\/a>, pro-life groups gathering within 150 meters of medical facilities (eg: clinics or hospitals) that provide abortions will be banned from October 31 onwards. Strikingly, an application of the anti-life law could criminalize actions to \u201cintentionally influence someone\u2019s decision to use abortion services,\u201d<\/span> reports<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>Daily Telegraph<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pro-abortion activists allege that the <\/span>law<\/span><\/a> \u2014<\/span> which obtained royal assent in May last year \u2014 will criminalize any actions regarded as obstructing or even influencing<\/em> someone’s decision away from seeking an abortion. A detailed version of the law reads:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is an offense for a person who is within a safe access zone to do an act with the intent of, or reckless as to whether it has the effect of\u2014<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(a) influencing any person\u2019s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(b) obstructing or impeding any person accessing, providing, or facilitating the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic, or<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(c) causing harassment, alarm or distress to any person in connection with a decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

where the person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) is within the safe access zone for the abortion clinic.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The law defines a \u201csafe access zone\u201d as “<\/span>an area which is within a boundary which is 150 meters from any part of an abortion clinic or any access point to any building or site that contains an abortion clinic and is\u2014<\/p>\n

(a) on or adjacent to a public highway or public right of way,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(b) in an open space to which the public has access,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(c) within the curtilage of an abortion clinic, or building or site which contains an abortion clinic, or<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(d) in any location that is visible from a public highway, public right of way, open space to which the public have access, or the curtilage of an abortion clinic.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Notably, pro-life groups worry that silent prayer could fall within the scope of the law, slamming the legislation as infringing on religious belief and freedom of expression, notes <\/span>Sky News<\/span><\/a>. Based on <\/span>draft guidance on the law from the previous Conservative government<\/span><\/a>, it seems that silent prayer may still be permitted within the zones.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ: No, silent prayer is not \u2018reproductive coercion\u2019 just because someone questions the motive<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

For one, Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, stated the zones will mean \u201cvital practical support provided by volunteers outside abortion clinics, which helps to provide a genuine choice, and offers help to women who may be undergoing coercion, will be removed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Likewise, the Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of England and Wales decried the buffer zone law, saying that \u201csuch legislation remains deeply concerning as a threat to freedom of speech, thought, conscience and religion for people of all faiths and none.\u201d Bishop John Sherrington, the Lead Bishop for Life Issues,<\/span> declared<\/span><\/a> that legislation contained in section 9 of the <\/span>Public Order Act 2023<\/span><\/a> will unduly affect people of faith by limiting freedom of speech and by outlawing a variety of activities, based on a report by the Catholic Herald.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bishop\u2019s statement reads:<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference repeatedly stated during the passage of the Public Order Bill last year, \u2018safe access zone\u2019 legislation is <\/span>unnecessary and disproportionate<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

We condemn all harassment and intimidation of women and hold that, as was accepted in a Home Office Review, there are already laws and mechanisms in place to protect women from such behavior. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In practice, and despite any other intention, this legislation constitutes discrimination and disproportionately affects people of faith. Religious freedom is the foundational freedom of any free and democratic society, essential for the flourishing and realization of dignity of every human person. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Bishop Sherrington added, “Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one\u2019s private beliefs in public through witness, prayer and charitable outreach, including outside abortion facilities.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Urge Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and other major chains to resist pressure to dispense the abortion pill<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pro-life battle to defend the lives of preborn babies is facing yet another challenge in Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s Britain.\u00a0 According to the Public Order Act, pro-life groups gathering within 150 meters of medical facilities (eg: clinics or hospitals) that provide abortions will be banned from October 31 onwards. Strikingly, an application of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1007,"featured_media":306462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2793,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nPro-life groups slam Britain's abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one\u2019s private beliefs in public... including outside abortion facilities."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pro-life groups slam Britain's abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one\u2019s private beliefs in public... including outside abortion facilities."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-20T21:40:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-20T18:45:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-950620284-buffer-zone-ealing-uk.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Angeline Tan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Angeline Tan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Angeline Tan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e93835086e541c49fa91993f3c772cfd\"},\"headline\":\"Pro-life groups slam Britain’s abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-20T21:40:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-20T18:45:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/\"},\"wordCount\":700,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Activism\",\"Newsbreak\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/\",\"name\":\"Pro-life groups slam Britain's abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-20T21:40:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-20T18:45:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"\\\"Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one\u2019s private beliefs in public... including outside abortion facilities.\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pro-life groups slam Britain’s abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Live Action News\",\"description\":\"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Live Action\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"width\":701,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Live Action\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e93835086e541c49fa91993f3c772cfd\",\"name\":\"Angeline Tan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c304fe63b9d7fce4919ed0c1f4e77471?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c304fe63b9d7fce4919ed0c1f4e77471?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Angeline Tan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/angeline-tan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pro-life groups slam Britain's abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect","description":"\"Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one\u2019s private beliefs in public... including outside abortion facilities.\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pro-life groups slam Britain's abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect","og_description":"\"Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one\u2019s private beliefs in public... including outside abortion facilities.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/","og_site_name":"Live Action News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","article_published_time":"2024-09-20T21:40:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-20T18:45:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-950620284-buffer-zone-ealing-uk.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Angeline Tan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@liveaction","twitter_site":"@liveaction","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Angeline Tan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/"},"author":{"name":"Angeline Tan","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e93835086e541c49fa91993f3c772cfd"},"headline":"Pro-life groups slam Britain’s abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect","datePublished":"2024-09-20T21:40:13+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-20T18:45:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/"},"wordCount":700,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Activism","Newsbreak"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/","name":"Pro-life groups slam Britain's abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-09-20T21:40:13+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-20T18:45:45+00:00","description":"\"Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one\u2019s private beliefs in public... including outside abortion facilities.\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/britain-abortion-buffer-zone-law\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pro-life groups slam Britain’s abortion buffer zone law, soon to go into effect"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","name":"Live Action News","description":"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization","name":"Live Action","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","width":701,"height":710,"caption":"Live Action"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e93835086e541c49fa91993f3c772cfd","name":"Angeline Tan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c304fe63b9d7fce4919ed0c1f4e77471?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c304fe63b9d7fce4919ed0c1f4e77471?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Angeline Tan"},"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/angeline-tan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319015"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319052,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319015\/revisions\/319052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}