In Britain, thoughts of the mind are criminalised

Where is the emergency exit door out of this asylum ?

Source : https://reinformation.tv/grande-bretagne-priere-cliniques-avortement-jallais/

Prayer even at home soon to be banned near abortion clinics

Thought crime! Labour promised it, here it is. The new legislation came into force last month in Scotland and similar legislation will follow in late October in England and Wales. Prayer, even silent prayer, even on private property, even inside a home, will be considered a criminal offence if it is carried out within the so-called 200-metre “safe access” zones established around all abortion clinics.

Since these buffer zones were introduced by the Public Spaces Protection Order in 2023, silent prayer has been the subject of much debate: for some, it is the ultimate tool of control for hated anti-abortionists, for others, it is a major ratchet in state interference and the violation of human rights.

It is argued that this is aimed at anything that "could cause the staff and patients of these clinics to feel harassed, afraid or distressed". But it is freedom of thought and religion that is being attacked, not to mention the true freedom of these women who are thus prevented from knowing. It is not they who are being defended, but the culture of death.

Being on private property is not a bar to prosecution

In Scotland, residents of a "safe access zone" in Edinburgh were surprised to receive a government letter in their mailbox, seen by The Telegraph , warning that they could even face criminal prosecution for actions carried out in their homes.

It states: "Generally, these are offences in public places within secure access zones. However, activities in a private place (such as a home) in the area between the protected premises and the boundary of a zone may constitute an offence if they can be seen or heard within the area and are carried out intentionally or recklessly." It states that while less serious offences carry fines of up to £10,000, fines for more serious offences can be unlimited.

What if you pray all the time, as this young, devout Christian woman from Edinburgh told the Telegraph  ? It seems like that could be a problem… unless people don’t understand that you’re praying. And even then, it’s not even certain: Christian volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested twice in 2022 and 2023 for simply standing near an abortion clinic. The new guidelines make it clear: law enforcement will now be able to judge the “intention” of a “silent vigil,” even if it’s held in a private home.

It feels like a communist dictatorship. The director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said: "This sinister and deeply Orwellian directive suggests that buffer zone legislation could be used to control and regulate religious activity on private property."

Prayer around abortion clinics is fundamentally forbidden

In England and Wales, it will be more of the same, starting October 31. The English legislation will criminalize, "in any place" within a radius of 150 meters of abortion providers, activities that could deter or disrupt staff and patients, if these activities are "visible from a public highway, an open space to which the public has access, or the grounds of an abortion clinic."

Yet the previous Conservative government issued guidance in December stating that silent prayer should be allowed within the new “safe access zones”, as should “consensual” communication. It stated: “Silent prayer, which is the engagement of the mind and spirit in prayer to God, is protected as an absolute right under the Human Rights Act 1998 and should not, in itself, be considered an offence in any circumstances.”

But these guidelines were not published before the July elections. Pressure was already building, notably under the aegis of Dame Diana Johnson, the new Minister of Police who had signalled her displeasure to the Minister of the Interior, even though she is absolutely not personally responsible for this legislation. The NGO Marie Stopes International which promotes "sexual and reproductive health" , had also spoken of "major flaws".

And when the new Labour government came to power in early July, the guidelines were quickly swept aside, the bill radicalised, and implementation accelerated.

In Britain, thoughts of the mind are criminalised

Surely too many legal victories have been won by people wrongly arrested for praying near abortion clinics. Only a few weeks ago, the Christian Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was apologised to by West Midlands Police and awarded £13,000 in compensation. And this was entirely appropriate, because until then silent prayer could not be a crime, as the then Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, had pointed out, as Jeanne Smits noted .

It will probably not be the same anymore. The "thought crime" that Isabel Vaughan-Spruce had denounced could become an admissible argument, even though the American Commission on International Religious Freedom had included her arrest in its annual list of violations of religious freedom in the world. The State wants to interfere ever further - even in our homes. Not only should no one be able to influence those who submit to the culture of death, but no one should pray for them. Double punishment.

This opens the way to obvious abuses of power. And what will be done about the case of Adam Smith-Connor, the army veteran who, in 2022, went to pray standing behind a tree in a public green space near the Bournemouth clinic for his dead son, aborted 24 years ago? At the magistrates' court in late September, he responded to the magistrate who accused him of engaging in "an act of disapproval of the work of the abortion clinic": "I pray in my mind and I do not approach anyone. I have the right to pray silently for my dead son in a free country."

And what will be done with the evening rosary, recited peacefully in the garden? With the crucifix hanging on the living room wall, visible from the street? With the statue of Saint Joseph adorning the threshold of the house? We have gone beyond freedom of expression, beyond freedom at all. Tyranny no longer hides itself.

By Clementine Jallais