Abortion buffer challenge

A local authority-imposed abortion buffer zone in an area that includes private homes has been challenged in the High Court.

Separately, a pro-life campaigner was given a fine by police after being questioned outside a Birmingham abortion clinic (the council has said it will not pursue the fine).

A video circulating online shows a female police officer questioning Isabel Vaughan-Spruce while referring to a document. One of the questions was: ‘Are you here to pray for the lives of unborn children?’ to which Vaughan-Spruce said she was not. She told the officer she was not there to protest, but was asked to move – and then told she was being given a fixed penalty notice (FPN).

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said she was breaching a ‘well-signposted’ Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) which she was fully aware of. They added: ‘The officer was reading from a document prepared for officer guidance to establish the breach … The woman had travelled many miles to the location and confirmed she was praying.’ However, Vaughan-Spruce did not say she was silently praying until after the FPN was issued.

Meanwhile, a ruling is expected in the coming weeks following a legal challenge to the validity of a buffer zone around a Bournemouth abortion clinic. Christian Concern described the buffer zone ‘unique’ as the local authority imposed it in such a way that private residential properties are also with the zone. The order bans prayer and reciting Scripture.

The case was brought by Christian Concern and Livia Tossici-Bolt.