Dear SPUC supporter
The Home Office's consultation on buffer zones guidance closes at 11:59pm on Monday 22 January 2024. If you haven't yet, please respond now.
As we mentioned before, the abortion lobby are furious that the guidance mitigates some of the worst aspects of the buffer zones amendment passed by Parliament. BPAS has said it is "shocked" by the government's attempt to "gut a law which a majority of MPs voted for".
Now, pro-abortion MPs are piling pressure on the Home Secretary to u-turn, as you can read in this BBC article. However, Mr Cleverly did say that "All views will be carefully considered ahead of publishing the final version of the guidance."
We cannot let the abortion lobby get their way just because they shout the loudest. We need to flood the consultation with pro-life responses, and show the Home Secretary that the majority of people do not want to ban silent prayer or helping women in need.
What's the background again?
As a reminder… In May 2023, the Public Order Bill, which had been amended to include a clause introducing buffer zones around abortion facilities in England and Wales, received Royal Assent.
The section of the Bill which deals with buffer zones, Section 9, has not yet been put into effect. The Home Office has now published draft guidance on enforcing section 9, and is consulting on it.
We oppose the entire concept of buffer zones, as an illiberal attack on freedom of speech for pro-life people, and a cruel denial of help to women in need. However, the legislation is now on the statute book, and will be enforced in some form.
The draft guidance actually goes a long way towards mitigating some of the most egregious implications of the buffer zones law. It reaffirms that silent prayer is an absolute right under the Human Rights Act 1998 and appears to leave space for offering help and information to women in need.
It is vital that pro-lifers respond to the consultation, to ensure that the finished document is as good as possible.
Please complete the consultation NOW and encourage others to do so. To help you with the questions, we have produced a guide you can refer to.
The consultation runs until 11:59pm on Mond.ay 22 January 2024
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