Holly Baines dives into chapter 12 of the “Abortion ‘Buffer Zones’ report” and summarises the key findings exposing the weaponisation of abortion buffer zones to erode freedom of speech
Have abortion buffer zones been weaponised to shut down democratic debate?
And are pro-lifers facing a miscarriage of justice due to financial disparities during private prosecutions?
A new report, commissioned by the Christian Legal Centre, argues this is the case in the UK.
Written by Dr Martin Parsons, the report explores the implementation of abortion ‘buffer zones’ and exposes how these restrictions have been weaponised to silence Christian beliefs in public.
From PSPOs to private prosecutions, the evidence is clear: Christian beliefs are no longer welcome in the public sphere.
But what are abortion ‘buffer zones’, why do they exist, and how are they being used to silence opposition to abortion?
Short-circuiting the democratic process
Parsons highlights how Ealing Council short-circuited the democratic process by creating an abortion ‘buffer zone’ using a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
PSPOs were initially created to “tackle minor issues of anti-social behaviour” such as dog fouling and street drinking.
Therefore, the use of a PSPO by Ealing Council to prohibit all public expressions of opposition to abortion – explicitly including prayer – was an unprecedented step and one that has raised many concerns about this draconian restriction of freedom of religion and expression.
In spite of this, Ealing Council’s example was soon followed by other councils, and shortly afterwards the Government introduced the UK-wide ‘buffer zones’ in 2023.
These laws came into effect in October 2024, effectively criminalising any pro-life conversations, displays and even prayers within the vicinity of abortion clinics.
The clampdown on ‘thoughtcrimes’
Already, Christians in the UK have been arrested or issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for offering women life-affirming alternatives, expressing their Christian beliefs and even silently praying within an abortion ‘buffer zone’.
In 2023, Christian Legal Centre client Stephen Green was arrested, and then convicted, for breaching a PSPO by standing outside a MSI Reproductive Choices clinic while holding a sign saying, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13). This verse from the King James Bible doesn’t even mention abortion, yet was still deemed a criminal offense.
Christian Hacking was also arrested and prosecuted for praying outside an abortion clinic, but the charges were dropped due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
In 2022, Father Gough and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce were arrested for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham. Before the case was ultimately dropped, Isabel said she was “arrested and criminalised simply for my private thoughts on a public street.”
Later, Isabel faced arrest yet again for praying silently outside the same clinic, despite the clinic being closed at the time. She was once more acquitted and was awarded £13,000 in compensation.
In November 2022, army veteran Adam Smith-Connor was served a fixed penalty notice for silently praying within a PSPO – despite the fact he was out of sight of the abortion clinic. He was praying for his unborn son who had lost his life to abortion 22 years previously.
After his conviction, Adam said: “I served for 20 years in the army reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, to protect the fundamental freedoms that this country is built upon… It troubles me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to the extent that thoughtcrimes are now being prosecuted in the UK.”
December 2023 saw retired medical scientist Livia Tossici-Bolt stopped by uniformed Community Safety Enforcement officers for holding a sign saying “pregnant – need help?” with a crisis pregnancy helpline phone number. On another occasion she was issued a Fixed Penalty Notice for holding a sign in a PSPO area which said, “Here to talk if you want to”.
And in May 2024, Sebastian Vaughan-Spruce was also issued a Fixed Penalty Notice in Birmingham for silently standing on the street in a PSPO area.
It has long been said that “the thoughts of a man are not triable”.
However, do these cases show that this is no longer true when silent prayer outside an abortion clinic is involved?
Eroding equal access to justice
The report says that a crucial issue revealed in these cases is the issue of eroding equal access to justice.
If a pro-lifer is issued a Fixed Penalty notice and decides to appeal it, the case goes to trial in the Magistrates Court. The council then mounts a private prosecution, which means the appellant could be liable for the full prosecution fees if convicted.
If the prosecution were undertaken by the CPS in the Magistrates Court, and the person was convicted, they would likely face costs of around £250.
However, under a private prosecution, the full prosecution costs could amount to tens of thousands of pounds, which is extortionately more than the maximum fine for breaching a PSPO (£1000).
Therefore, Christians who breach a PSPO do not have equal access to justice due to the disparity between the council’s financial resources and their own risk of financial liability if they are convicted.
The report further highlights that, because “legal aid is generally only available where there is a real risk of custodial sentence,” any Christian who was issued a FPN would need to have the finances to fund their legal costs before considering an appeal.
Additionally, the local Council could “exploit this imbalance by employing high fee earning lawyers in the hope of increasing the probability of a conviction and then asking the court for their full costs to be imposed on the person convicted.”
This was exposed in Adam Smith-Conner’s prosecution, where the Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council reportedly racked up over £90,000 legal fees. Whilst Adam was only fined £9,000 in costs, this is still nine times the maximum financial penalty for breaching a PSPO.
The disparity of finances between Councils and individuals who breach the abortion ‘buffer zones’ means that Councils could expend vast amounts of financial resources to ensure a conviction whilst Christians would only have extremely limited funds available to defend their right to religious expression. This is incredibly unjust. This also raises a concerning question about the misuse of ‘public interest’ in cases such as these.
The CPS is able to take over private prosecutions, as it did when the Christian Legal Centre supported Aisling Hubert’s private prosecution of doctors who offered ‘gender-selective abortions’. In that case, the CPS took over the prosecution and then dropped it for not being in the public interest, landing Aisling with over £30,000 legal fees to pay.
However, in Smith-Conner’s case, the council was permitted to spend a net £81,000 of public money over prosecuting him for his silent prayer.
How can it possibly be in the public interest to prosecute such a case, and not in the public interest to challenge intentional sex-selective abortions?
Silencing democratic debate and religious expression
In addition, the use of Fixed Penalty Notices by council officers is inherently a risk for human rights abuses.
Dr Martin Parsons discusses the differences between the constitutional duty of police officers and council officers to uphold human rights, saying it poses a “significant constitutional issue” where “conflicts of fundamental human rights” are involved.
Police officers must take an oath of office that requires they act fairly and impartially and respect human rights. In addition, the police are not “operationally subject to political direction”.
However, council officers are contractually required to adhere to “political direction” and are minimally trained in upholding human rights.
Therefore, giving these council officers the ability to silence and criminalise Christians simply for expressing their beliefs or silently praying in public poses a severe risk to human rights.
The UK has a strong heritage of upholding freedom of religion and freedom of expression. But with the implementation of abortion ‘buffer zones’ and the ability of ill-trained council officers to issue FPNs, we are witnessing these freedoms being stripped away as our Christian beliefs and even silent prayer are deemed unnecessary and a ‘risk to the public’.
The ambiguity between individual PSPOs and official guidance means there is no certainty as to whether silent prayer is legal or not within the vicinity of any given abortion clinic.
The intent of these restrictions is to shut down dissent and enable the criminalisation of any who attempt to change people’s minds or oppose the government-supported ideology of ‘safe-access’ to abortion services.
A miscarriage of justice
This investigation into buffer zones makes it evident that buffer zones have been weaponised to shut down democratic debate about abortion.
As Christians, it is essential we protect our right to speak up for the vulnerable, to defend biblical values and to offer support and life-saving options rather than tolerating the inhumanity of abortion to persist in the UK.
The use of Public Spaces Protection Orders and private prosecutions to silence religious beliefs and opposition to abortion is clearly a miscarriage of justice and fundamentally a breach of free speech and freedom of religion.
Read the full ‘Abortion Buffer Zones’ report to find out more.
