Protection zones around abortion clinics coming into force in parts of UK

Silent prayer faces being banned outside abortion clinics in the UK under a new law to be introduced at the end of next month. The British government is enacting new legislation from October 31 that would bar protests, including silent prayer, within a buffer zone of 150m of a clinic or hospital providing abortion services. Labour has ditched draft guidance by the last Conservative government that told police silent prayer should be allowed inside the new “safe access zones”.

It has also scrapped exemptions allowing “consensual” communication within the zones, which has been interpreted as permitting the handing out of leaflets or activists engaging people in conversation. The changes mean that silent prayer will be banned in the zones, although it will be at the discretion of the police to determine whether it meets the threshold for prosecution..