The fight to protect pro-life freedom of speech is heating up. You will have heard about the case of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was arrested in Birmingham for silently praying outside a (closed) abortion clinic. Yesterday, a new story broke – a military veteran was detained by police in Bournemouth for praying outside the clinic where his son was aborted 22 years ago.  

Both of these arrests occurred under draconian local Public Space Protection Orders. But we are very close to having buffer zone legislation imposed on a national level. An amendment to the Public Order Bill, to impose so called buffer zones around all abortion clinics in England and Wales, will next be debated in the House of Lords on 30 January. 

This buffer zones amendment, introduced by Stella Creasy and voted through by MPs last October, is now Clause 9 of the Public Order Bill. The Government has admitted that this Clause is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. 

In previous debates, Peers from across the House, and with different views on abortion, spelt out how the Clause threatens free speech, harms vulnerable women, and criminalises people for the simple act of offering a leaflet.  

Please write to members of the House of Lords, asking them to vote against Clause 9, and if necessary the whole bill.  

We have created an easy to use webtool to help you do this.  The tool selects three peers for you to write to, and provides an editable template. To send a message to peers: 

1. Fill in your details 
2. Edit the template, if you wish (personal messages are much more effective)
3. Press “send message” 

Please act NOW - this could be our last chance to stop buffer zones in Parliament. Once you have sent the message, please forward this email to others: