Vijest

Recent news has shown considerable hope for the freedom of speech debate in the United Kingdom affecting the pro-life movement.

First, US Vice President JD Vance gave a groundbreaking speech criticizing violations of free speech in the United Kingdom, citing the arrest of Adam Smith-Connor, a 40 Days for Life leader for a thoughtcrime as a key example, along with the Scottish Government writing to people in their own homes about an abortion buffer zone. The story made international viral news.

Second, this topic then reemerged at Starmer’s meeting with Vance and Trump in which Vance doubled down on his original comments making for an awkward diplomatic moment. Starmer said how he was proud of the United Kingdom’s record on free speech, but did not address Vance’s original criticism of the United Kingdom’s violations of free speech. With a trade deal to be negotiated between the two countries, this could develop further into a hot potato issue.

Third, the arrest of Rose Docherty in Scotland meant that an elderly grandmother became the first person to be arrested under the most extreme abortion buffer zone in the world introduced by the Scottish Parliament. Defending her actions, Rose said, “I held a sign. I didn’t breach the buffer zone - I didn’t harass, intimate, or seek to influence anyone. I simply stood there, available to speak with love and compassion.”

Fourth, Livia Tossici-Bolt faces a trial in March 2025 for holding a sign reading: “Here to talk, if you want.” Several individuals approached her to talk to her about issues in their own lives with consensual conversation. The local authorities gave her a fixed penalty notice for breaching the buffer zone with bans “expression of approval or disapproval of abortion.” Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has already been compensated at the end of her legal hearings for 13,000 pounds for mistreatment.

It appears that following the viral international media coverage that has emerged since Vance’s comments, the issue of free speech for pro-life activists in Britain will be visited again and again. The international media will cover Adam appealing his decision, Rose facing a trial and ruling, and also Vance mentioning the topic. The Scottish Parliament has already faced international ridicule. In short free speech in Britain is now a massive viral international media story to be revisited again and again.

It seems the ridicule about free speech in Britain is going to continue until it leads to a position of extreme farce, perhaps people praying inside their own homes coming back as a topic.

The extreme irony is that in losing free speech, nothing has brought the topic of abortion up than trying to ban free speech with round after round of international media coverage you could only dream of. This topic is coming back time after time with multiple legal, and political rounds of debate, controversy, conflict, and a bitter, bloody battle but one in which abortion will be discussed and debated like never before.

What is missing in Britain is an impartial, serious discussion about the true nature and culture of abortion. A debate on free speech is a catalyst in which that debate can get started and consciences can start considering the impact of over 10 million lives lost by abortion and how Britain continues to pay for an export abortion even to countries where it is illegal.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance states that silent prayer is not necessarily criminal according to buffer zones legislation, however, actions inside a buffer zone that influence a woman in the context of abortion are.
 
An inclusive society relies on the free exchange of ideas, opinions, and viewpoints that others might find objectionable or offensive. Censorship zones violate democratic principles and set an illiberal precedent of government-sponsored public censorship. Censorship zones are draconian because they criminalize citizens for activities that would otherwise be legal. The implementation of censorship zones set a precedent that a pressure group can censor another minority group they disagree with: this is “mob rule” in action.

Now is the time for change to help build a culture in Britain where free speech is understood and respected by everyone so that pro-lifers can express their thoughts, words, and prayers in public unafraid of arrest and intimidation. Now is the time to have an expansive national debate about the violence of abortion which ends the life of a child in the womb. We can’t live in a society where we censor people we don’t like and arrest people for thought crimes, but if we do, they are going to get international viral media attention again and again until the situation is resolved.