UK: The casual tyranny of banning silent prayer

Posted on April 15, 2025 
Filed under Culture wars

“Pro-life activist Livia Tossici-Bolt was convicted earlier this month for standing outside an abortion clinic with a sign reading: ‘Here to talk, if you want.’ She was fined £20,000 for twice breaching the clinic’s ‘buffer zone’. …

Her arrest and conviction was a result of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs). These are powers that allow councils to restrict just about any activity of their choosing. …

Freedom cannot be protected with tyranny. Once the state is given the power to police our thoughts, that knife will fall on us all – whatever our views on abortion.”

– Civil-liberties campaigner Josie Appleton writes at Spiked Online. (Link thanks to Anglican Mainstream.)

Photo: ADF International, where there is more background.