Silent prayer could be banned outside abortion clinics as part of legislation to curb protests and allow patients safe access, it has been reported.
The Home Office is said to be proposing a 150m buffer zone around healthcare centres offering the service which will stop anti-abortion campaigners from protesting.
The Telegraph has reported that ministers are reviewing current guidelines, published last December, which allowed for “consensual communication”.
This term has been taken to mean flyering and silent prayer but the review could reportedly be putting both these things at risk.
The Home Office has put out proposals for consultation but has not said explicitly which parts of the current guidance could change.
However, it is known that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has previously voted in favour of banning silent prayer from inside these buffer zones.
Current draft guidance states: “Prayer within a safe access zone should not automatically be seen as unlawful.
“Silent prayer, being the engagement of the mind and thought in prayer towards God, is protected as an absolute right under the Human Rights Act 1998 and should not, on its own, be considered to be an offence under any circumstances.”
The Home Office has been approached for comment and said it had nothing to add.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson does not have a remit that extends to abortion but has previously spoken up on the issue.
In January, she challenged then home secretary James Cleverly and expressed dissatisfaction over the wording of the guidelines.
She said: “We specifically voted against proposals to allow silent prayer and consensual communication in safe access zones.
“I notice that the Home Office has produced guidance which includes those measures being allowed.
“I just wondered why you would do that when Parliament had been very clear that that was not the will of Parliament.”
Rachael Clarke, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, added: “The law was designed specifically to stop activities such as being present all day every day, staring at and approaching women as they try to access confidential medical care, handing out false medical information in leaflets, or standing at the clinic gate with rosary beads and candles.
“It should be clear to everyone that these activities are designed to influence women’s reproductive choices – there’s simply no other reason to be present at the gate to an abortion clinic.”
