The Patriot Post® · UK Forbids Silent Prayer Near Abortion Clinics

There are many reasons to laud the British, such as their dry, witty sense of humor, love of dogs and gardening, and backtracking on “gender-affirming care” for children. However, their government is threatening them with an Orwellian threat on several fronts, particularly regarding freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

With the recent ascension of the Labour Party, more Orwellian policies have been implemented. According to Free Press associate editor Madeleine Kearns, “The UK’s brand-new ‘Safe Access’ law … came into effect September 24 and made it a criminal offense to do anything within 200 meters of an abortion facility that could ‘influence’ someone’s decision to access, provide, or facilitate an abortion.” While previous laws had been in place restricting pro-life interventions of prayer and offers of aid, this new law is excessive and an abuse of governmental power.

There have been numerous arrests and even convictions all over the UK.

In Coleraine, Northern Ireland, pro-life activist Claire Brennen was doing what she had done for 11 years — praying the rosary and asking others to join her in praying to end abortion. She was arrested because even silent prayer is a “protest” and, therefore, is now against the law.

In Bournemouth, England, a British Army veteran named Adam Smith-Conner was arrested and convicted of silently praying inside a “safe zone.” What a horrible euphemism “safe zone” is. Safe for whom?

As Daily Citizen reports, “The shocking arrest and fines imposed on the religious beliefs of Adam Smith-Conner happened even though freedom of religion and conscience are protected in the UK under its Human Rights Act 1998, which adopts the European Convention on Human Rights.”

In other words, one law is superseding another.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, the law states that even private homes are to comply with the restrictions in an abortion censorship zone. Simply wearing a pro-life shirt around a neighborhood, allowing fellow pro-lifers to meet in your home, or even praying can get you arrested.

The citizens of the UK are living in circumstances like those in the Book of Daniel. When Daniel was told not to pray, he plopped himself right by the window and continued to pray just as he always had. For that, he was arrested and thrown into the lion’s den. Yet God protected Daniel and changed the heart of a king and a nation.

There is nothing new under the sun. When it comes to abortion, the devil knows better than anyone that the prayers of the faithful and the righteous are incredibly powerful. Like in the Book of Daniel, the government is being used to suppress Christians’ most powerful weapon, and like in Daniel, these Christian activists are out there praying and facing the consequence of defying their government’s unjust laws.

Can what is happening in the UK be a canary in the coal mine for the U.S.? Yes. The Department of Justice, particularly under Attorney General Merrick Garland, is actively persecuting Christians who pray outside abortion clinics as violators of the FACE Act. Kamala Harris already has a Christian problem, and she’s promising to trample religious liberty in the name of abortion.

While the Constitution protects religious liberties, the Left wants to undermine those codifications in the name of protecting “autonomy.”