LIVERPOOL, England — The English and Welsh bishops have criticized a decision by the British government to put “buffer zones” around all abortion clinics, which could see Christians arrested for offering private prayers. This legislation, contained in the Public Order Act 2023 and which will come into force Oct. 31, criminalizes a range of activities within 492 feet or 150 meters of an abortion facility, the Home Office announced in a Sept. 18 press release. Such activities potentially include prayer, thought, peaceful presence, consensual communication and offers of practical support to women in vulnerable situations. “This legislation constitutes discrimination and disproportionately affects people of faith,” Auxiliary Bishop John Sherrington of Westminster, the lead bishop for life issues, said. “Religious freedom is the foundational freedom of any free and democratic society, essential for the flourishing and realisation of dignity of every human person,” he said in a Sept. 18 statement posted on the website of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. “Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one’s private beliefs in public through witness, prayer and charitable outreach, including outside abortion facilities,” he continued. (OSV News)
