Fundamental freedoms have been dealt an extreme blow by the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the passage of a new bill on Tuesday rolling out so-called “buffer zones” around every abortion facility in England and Wales. The Public Order Bill puts into force 150-meter censorship zones banning any form of “influence,” including silent prayer and consensual conversations, wherever abortions are performed. The U.K., the birthplace of the Magna Carta and many of the foundational freedoms we enjoy in the West, is now leading the charge on a new era of thought-crime prosecution.
One need only look to recent arrests to understand the immense human rights ramifications of the new law. Where censorship zones are already in force, they have engendered severe violations of the right to free expression. Take for example the viral arrest of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, whose case reveals the state of legal chaos that censorship zones generate. Isabel was first arrested in December for the “crime” of standing in peaceful silence, praying, on a public sidewalk classified as a censorship zone near a Birmingham, England abortion facility. In February, she was acquitted fully in court, only to be arrested once again for the imperceptible act of silent prayer on Monday of this week.
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