Woman arrested in Birmingham for praying outside abortion clinic

[bagthoughts]

How on earth can someone be arrested for silently praying?

Is there more to the story perhaps that is not being reported because if not I find this ridiculous and scary - what is the world coming to?

We can get arrested for our thoughts WTAF. Whether you agree or not with abortion this is just wrong.

She can pray at home/ church. No need to display provocative behavior in front of an abortion clinic. Surely she knew very well what she was doing. Also if they don’t set a precedent then next week there will be a 100 of their kind ‘praying’. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech, it’s just another form of harassing women in the name of religion and it was made very clear that there’s a zero tolerance policy for that. Finally.

Interesting take by a barrister. Note the underlying fact that you could always have been prosecuted for what you think in certain circumstances.

Unlike the US, the UK has no rigid backstop against the powers of the state. And with the impending withdrawal from the ECHR, cheered on by the people it will impact hardest, it's unlikely it ever will.

Maybe we should start saying "Be careful how you think" instead of "Be careful how you go" ?

I can just see the new UK based reboot of Hill St Blues ...

"Hey, hey, hey - let's think carefully out there !"

Now we realise why the police have been given training and powers to check our thinking. Harry the Owl was a test run.

We can get arrested for our thoughts WTAF.

No, you can't be arrested for your thoughts. Don't be so bloody daft.

She was arrested for breaching an exclusion zone.

And as for Fox News, it is right-wing shite.

THIS

Good.

She was aiming to shame and intimidate. We're not the US, thankfully, and women here still have reproductive rights.

Hopefully here's a better link with no adverts

Good. Nasty bitch.

Of course there's more to the story and it really doesn't take much working out as it's outside an abortion clinic 🤦‍♀️. I'm glad there's these exclusion zones.

Hence the analysis by an English barrister

I’m an atheist but even I know you don’t have to be anywhere near the people you’re praying for to, er, pray for them. Awful mad woman, she’s trying to intimidate, nothing else.

Her actions resulted in harassment being caused to people using or working at the clinic. No one's stopping her praying, just go somewhere more appropriate.

bagthoughts
@Hoppinggreen what do you mean what's the exclusion zone?

A lot of clinics have a legally enforced exclusion zone around them of x amount of metres. This is to stop pro lifers from hassling women.

It is right she was arrested for breaking the exclusion zone. You can't tell us she wasn't there as a pro lifer and doing it to cause distress to women. There are plenty of other places she can pray."

I agree. If she was in the legally enforceable exclusion zone then it's absolutely correct that she was arrested, otherwise what's the point of the exclusion zones?

Very glad to see the exclusion zone being enforced.

Our town has recently put an exclusion zone in place at the family planning clinic too, and one particular zealot, a woman, with whatever brand of "Christianity" behind her has launched a legal challenge. And I hope it fails, and I hope she incurs huge costs.

Many of the devoutly religious are supreme hypocrites. Their right to their beliefs trumps the rights of women ? It supersedes their physical and mental well-being? No, no it doesn't and the state shouldn't pander to it.

Hope this woman learns a lesson but sadly it will probably feed her delusions and make her a martyr in the eyes of her compadres.

Safe abortion is legal and no-one's business other than the woman involved and her health care providers.

Of course there is nothing wrong with praying but, taking this story at face value, it appears the woman was ostentatiously praying outside the clinic. The fact that the police were called is some evidence of that.

When people are genuinely concerned about issues they pray privately or with others who share the concerns. There is a time and place for publicly showing commitment but doing so outside an abortion clinic shows lack of empathy and compassion. Caution needs to be employed when picking a cause.

Where is the OP?
I hope you feel you can understand the issues better now 👍

She was in an exclusion zone and broke the law.

Not that hard to understand, is it?

She’d be so much happier if she stopped worrying about what other women choose to do with their own bodies.

The policeman shouldn't have asked if she was praying because she wasn't being arrested for praying. She was being arrested for breaching an exclusion zone.
Should she have been arrested for breaching it? Yy
Should the policeman have mentioned praying or referenced her faith? No.

In case the OP doesn't know who this woman is "Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of anti-abortion group March for Life UK"

She knew exactly what she was doing and she clearly wasn't just praying.

Why the hell is American Fox News with ultra right wing Tucker Carlson reporting on this pretty tiny event in the U.K.? That should be your first question.

It’s very worrying OP that you actually stated and believed someone was arrested for their thoughts.

Hmm yes OP, I would if there could possibly be any more to this? What a puzzler.

Interesting first post.

Serves her right! She thought she was clever. Well deserved.

Good. I hope they arrest her over and over again. Nasty woman trying to tell other women what to do with their bodies