The US State Department has said that buffer zones around abortion clinics represent “persecution” and are “egregious” violations of the freedoms of speech and religion.
The warning follows an intervention from Vice-President JD Vance in February, by which he claimed that folks inside such zones in Scotland had been sent official letters warning them about praying at home.
The claims were decried as “misinformation” by the member of the Scottish Parliament answerable for the law, Gillian Mackay.
Letters warning residents were indeed sent out, although they didn’t specifically mention prayer being forbidden. However, Mackay herself conceded in an interview that praying by the window in a single’s own residence could indeed fall foul of the law, depending on who happened to be passing the window on the time.
The US State Department has spoken out in response to cases within the UK by which odd members of the general public have been arrested for allegedly breaching the foundations in abortion buffer zones.
They include Livia Tossici-Bolt, a retired biomedical scientist. She received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £20,000 in costs for holding an indication that read “Here to speak if you need to” near an abortion facility in Bournemouth.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the State Department said of such cases, “The United States remains to be monitoring many ‘buffer zone’ cases within the UK, in addition to other acts of censorship throughout Europe.
“The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the elemental right to free speech and non secular liberty, but in addition a concerning departure from the shared values that should underpin US-UK relations.
“It is common sense that standing silently and offering consensual conversation doesn’t constitute harm.”
The comment was welcomed by legal advocacy group ADF International, who described cases against people praying or holding signs in abortion clinic buffer zones as injustices and a departure from Britain’s “proud traditions of liberty”.
“Freedom of speech and freedom of faith are cornerstones of any free society,” said Lorcan Price, legal counsel for ADF International.
“The US State Department is true to call out this injustice. It is time for the UK government to revive fundamental freedoms, and repeal buffer zone laws.”
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