The Scottish government is effectively asking the public to report people who pray against abortion at home to police if they are located in designated “Safe Access Zones,” Worthy News established Thursday.
“Holding silent vigils” are part of measures that are no longer allowed within 200 meters (219 yards) around a hospital or clinic providing abortion services, the government confirmed
Anybody who is caught praying, preaching, or otherwise expressing concern about abortion in the Safe Access Zones could be fined up to 10,000 British pounds ($12,927).
“Police Scotland will be responsible for enforcing the Safe Access Zones. Call the police if you see someone breaking this law,” the government told its residents in a statement seen by Worthy News. “Anybody who breaks this law can be fined up to 10,000 pounds.”
The Abortion Services Act (Scotland) 2024“says women and girls who have abortions should be protected,” the government explained.
The legislation, which was enacted last month, “prevents people trying to scare women and girls away from hospitals and clinics that provide abortion services,” if added.
The Scottish government noted, “Preventing or influencing someone might include handing out leaflets, religious preaching [and] holding silent vigils.” It said it was wrong to “Influence someone’s private decision to use abortion services.”
Residents in Edinburgh, the capital, already received letters warning them about the new legislation.
A letter sent to people in an Edinburgh zone stated: “Activities in a private place (such as a house) within the area between the protected premises and the boundary of a zone could be an offense if they can be seen or heard within the zone and are done intentionally or recklessly.”
Christians have expressed concern about the new measures in this country of 5.4 million. “As a Christian, I pray all the time,” an Edinburg resident was quoted as saying. “To think that this could now be a criminal offense, even within the vicinity of my own home, is truly unbelievable,” she added.
Michael Robinson, executive director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, called the legislation “sinister and deeply Orwellian,” suggesting that this could include “someone silently praying in their front garden.”
It follows similar measures in England and Wales, like Scotland, part of Britain.
Abortion providers, or “Termination services” as they are officially called in Scotland, “undertook 1,600 additional terminations” last year, comprising 18,207 abortions, according to Public Health Scotland figures seen by Worthy News.
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