Stephen Green, a pro-life Christian, lost his appeal after being found guilty of breaching an abortion buffer zone in Ealing, north London.
Mr Green reportedly stood outside the Marie Stopes facility with a Bible verse written on a sign.
He was later prosecuted and found guilty by Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court of using a Bible verse prohibited by Ealing Council, a ban that Mr Green says is “a massive attack on freedom of religion and freedom of expression”.
“Although Ealing Council argues I was protesting against abortion, I have constantly maintained I was protesting against the buffer zone itself, in particular, because Ealing’s list of prohibited words”, Mr Green said.
Mr Green has now lost his appeal at Isleworth Crown Court. He says he will appeal the decision. “If someone does not take a stand against authoritarian law, those in power will take more and more of our God-given freedoms.”
Earlier this year, Adam Smith-Connor was “All I did was pray to God” outside an abortion facility in Bournemouth, England.
Buffer zones came into full force in England and Wales this year on 31 October, and in Scotland on 24 September.
Woman Found Guilty In Northern Ireland
A Christian woman in Northern Ireland has also been convicted of breaching a buffer zone in Coleraine, County Londonderry. Pro-life activist Claire Brennan told a court that she intended to “prick the conscience” of women about to have abortions when she knelt in prayer inside a buffer zone. She argued that her right to pray there was protected by the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
“They [the government] have made a law that prohibits my right to worship, to speak the gospel to these women, to speak truth to them that their baby is a precious gift from God”, she said.
But Judge Peter King, who presided over the case, said he was “satisfied” that Northern Ireland’s buffer zones law “does not infringe anyone’s convention rights”.
After being found guilty, Ms Brennan was fined a total of £750 for breaching the buffer zones and refusing to leave. Buffer zones came into force in Northern Ireland on 29 September 2023.
“An Orwellian Nightmare”
Daniel Frampton, SPUC’s Editorial Officer, said: “The UK is turning into an Orwellian nightmare, especially for Christians on the frontline of pro-life activism. It’s profoundly troubling that peaceful citizens are being singled out in this way by the pro-abortion establishment.
“These prosecutions appear increasingly anti-Christian, to the point that they constitute the active persecution of a religious group. This is an outrageously illiberal weaponisation of the law, which should never be used in this way.
“The blatant trampling of the ECHR is made more shocking because it is taking place in a traditionally Christian culture, one that fought hard to protect free speech and freedom of religion. It’s clear that these hard-won rights can no longer be taken for granted.”
