EGN NEWS DESK
A Roman Catholic lady is being prosecuted in Northern Ireland for praying inside an abortion clinic buffer zone.
Claire Brennan was arrested exterior Causeway Hospital in Coleraine final October the place she had been saying The Lord’s Prayer and holding up an indication that stated ‘Pray to End Abortion’. Her colleague, David Hall, was additionally arrested.
If discovered responsible of breaching the hospital’s ‘protected entry zone’, she faces a wonderful and as much as six months in jail.
The Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which is supporting her problem in opposition to prosecution, stated it was the primary case of its variety in Northern Ireland, which final 12 months introduced in nationwide buffer zones exterior abortion clinics. The buffer zones ban prayer, distributing literature, and providing assist to girls inside a 100 to 250m radius of clinics.
In footage of her arrest, an officer tells Mrs Brennan that she is “actually cussed and ignorant” for breaking the regulation by refusing to maneuver on.
Ahead of the listening to final Tuesday, Mrs Brennan stated it was “deeply disturbing” that the regulation “tells free residents that they are going to be arrested in the event that they pray”.
She stated that folks must be free to wish anyplace in Northern Ireland “even exterior of an abortion clinic”.
“The enlargement of abortion providers in Northern Ireland lately has been appalling. Our legal guidelines, beliefs and tradition on upholding and defending life on this nation have been trampled on,” she stated.
“We want pressing change to roll again what has occurred on this nation and to uphold God’s regulation not man’s regulation. The unborn are probably the most susceptible and in danger in our society and we’ve forgotten our ethical responsibility to do all the things we will to guard their lives and to offer susceptible moms with alternate options to abortion.
“The laws discriminates in opposition to Christian beliefs and their expression. If we aren’t free to precise prayer in opposition to abortion exterior of a clinic with out being criminalised, then none of us are free.
“I imagine I’ve carried out completely nothing mistaken. If the courts discover that I’ve and determine to convict me then we’re in a really darkish place certainly.”
Andrea Williams, chief govt of the Christian Legal Centre, stated: “In Northern Ireland, it has been proven that legal guidelines limiting abortion saved greater than 100,000 lives within the years from 1967 to 2016.
“For greater than 50 years, the regulation in Northern Ireland solely permitted abortion if it was mandatory to avoid wasting the lifetime of the pregnant lady. The 1967 Abortion Act in England and Wales, which is extensively interpreted to allow abortion on request, was not prolonged to NI.
“Since that regulation modified in March 2020, there was a two and a half instances improve within the annual variety of abortions. This is a tragedy, and anybody who cares about defending life must be particularly involved by what has occurred in Northern Ireland lately.
“Buffer zones are an oppressive half of the present tradition which pressure consent and silence dissent. The saddest factor of all is that we are literally speaking about human lives.
“We stand with Claire as she fights for justice and imagine the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 should be repealed.”
