CV NEWS FEED // Advocates of a “buffer zone” limiting the proximity of pro-life protests outside of abortion clinics in Scotland are arguing that freedom of speech is secondary to abortion access.
The advocates seek to legalize a buffer zone that prohibits pro-life advocates from protesting closer than 200 meters from abortion clinics. Violation of the buffer zone would result in fines.
According to the BBC, Green Party Member of Scottish Parliament Gillian Mackay last year introduced a member’s bill at the Scottish Parliament specifying the buffer zone regulations.
“The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has now unanimously agreed to the general principles of her Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill,” the BBC reported, later adding, “Committee MSPs acknowledged the concerns raised by opponents of the bill who said the proposals threatened their freedom to express their views in public spaces.”
Members of the pro-life organization 40 Days for Life frequently pray outside abortion clinics in Scotland, either in silence or out loud. The BBC reported that during a committee hearing on the proposed bill, a concern was expressed “that police may find it difficult to determine whether the law had been breached by those undertaking silent prayers.”
Silent prayers became a subject of debate before the committee, as proponents of the buffer zone bill argued that such “prayers ‘can still be intimidating’ to those seeking abortion services,” the BBC noted.
Opponents of the bill expressed concern that not allowing for an exemption for silent prayers could result in a “criminalisation of private thoughts,” the BBC reported, quoting a report on the debate.
While not everyone in the cross-party group of MSPs unanimously agrees on the proposed buffer zones regulations, Committee convener Clare Haughey said, “ultimately we believe the creation of safe access zones around abortion services is necessary to enforce the principle that everyone should be able to access healthcare free from intimidation or harassment.”
“We understand there are competing human rights at play, but we have concluded this bill strikes an appropriate balance,” Haughey continued, according to the BBC:
We held extensive discussions on the issue of silent prayer and while some members felt this should be exempt from the provisions in this bill, other members felt an exemption would fundamentally undermine its purpose and that silent prayer can be intimidating to those accessing services.
The committee recommended that if the bill passes stage one in the Scottish Parliament, discussing the topic of silent prayers resume in stage two.
In the United Kingdom, buffer zone laws for abortion clinics are already in place. As CatholicVote previously reported, in October of 2023, UK police targeted a woman praying silently outside of an abortion clinic and questioned her over the contents of her silent prayers.
The police asked the woman, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, if she was praying in her mind for unborn children, and warned her of fines she would receive for standing and silently praying outside of the clinic.
Vaughan-Spruce had previously been arrested twice in November 2022 for praying in another buffer zone, and acquitted both times.
A similar incident occurred in August of 2023, when Adam Smith-Connor, a Christian and United Kingdom army veteran, was fined for violating buffer zone regulations after he prayed outside of an abortion clinic.
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