This Thursday, October 31, the national “buffer zone” law that prohibits demonstrations in front of abortion centers came into force in England and Wales.
On the day the new law was launched, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published new guidance clarifying that silent prayer in an abortion buffer zone “is not necessarily” a crime, according a press release de Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) UK.
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The implementation of the national law comes more than a year after Parliament passed the Public Order Act 2023.
The new law makes it a criminal offense to “interfere with the decision of any person to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” within 150 meters of an abortion center.
It also declares illegal any action that “causes harassment or distress to anyone using or working at these facilities.”
Previously, buffer zones had only been implemented in five councils across the UK. The punishment for violating the Public Order Law is up to six months in prison and unlimited fines.
The Law has been the subject of controversy and debate in parliamentary chambers in the months leading up to its implementation due to questions about what could be construed as harassment, after several pro-life protesters were detained and prosecuted for praying silently outside clinics. of abortion.
Prior to the CPS clarification, ADF UK had launched a request to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Kier Starner, – and which obtained almost 60,000 signatures – to abstain from passing the law.
According to the petition, this law had been responsible for “the creation of thought crimes,” and recalled the arrests of people who had been praying silently outside abortion clinics.
Pro-life activist Isabel Vaughen-Spruce, director of March for Life UK, described the decision to approve the law as a “national disgrace”.
Similarly, the UK Society for the Protection of Unborn Children stated that the approval of the law It has been “a day of shame for England and Wales” and “a chilling moment in the history of Britain.”
Army veteran and pro-life protester Adam Smith-Connor, who was recently convicted of praying in silence, also spoke out on social media.
“As buffer zones are implemented across the country, and CPS guidance admits that silent prayer ‘is not necessarily’ a criminal offence, I am pleased to confirm that I am appealing against my conviction,” he said. in his post on X.
Smith-Conner was convicted after Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council charged him in October 2024 for praying in the buffer zone of an abortion clinic.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Low tide Elhabbal
Madalaine Elhabbal is a CNA journalist based in EWTN’s Washington DC bureau. She has published articles on CatholicVote and has also worked as a foreign language assistant in France. She is a graduate of Benedictine College.