A new law establishing “buffer zones” around abortion clinics has come into effect in the United Kingdom, banning protests within 150 yards (164 meters) of the facilities.

The legislation, which came into effect this week, makes it illegal to engage in activities designed to influence or prevent people from accessing abortion services, including silent prayer.

The new law, which came into force on Thursday, bans protests – including silent prayer, distributing anti-abortion leaflets and holding vigils – within 150 meters of abortion facilities.

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The Home Office said the ban covers “any behavior where someone intentionally tries to – or acts recklessly in a way that could – influence a person accessing the service”. conformable to The Telegraph.

“The idea that any woman is made to feel unsafe or harassed for accessing health services, including abortion clinics, is sickening. This stops today,” said Home Secretary Jess Phillips, telegraph added.

Police Minister Dame Diana Johnson said she was “confident that the safeguards we have put in place today will have a real impact in helping women feel safer and empowered to access the vital services they deserve need”.

The Crown Prosecution Service has issued guidance stating that silent prayer in these buffer zones “will not necessarily constitute” an offence. “A person carrying out any of these activities (including silent prayer) in a secure access area will not necessarily be committing an offence,” the CPS noted. Prosecutors are advised to consider the context and whether the behavior could be defined as a protest under the law.

The implementation of the buffer zone law comes after Parliament passed the Public Order Act 2023.

Violations can lead to up to six months in prison and unlimited fines, conformable to the Catholic News Agency.

Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Adviser for Alliance Defending Freedom UK, expressed concern above the law.

“The law is so vaguely written that peaceful, consensual conversations or even silent thoughts could become illegal on certain streets in England,” he said, adding: “We’ve already seen the prosecution of individuals like Adam Smith-Connor who just he stopped. to pray in his mind for a few minutes.”

Army veteran and pro-life protester Smith-Connor was recently convicted of praying silently in a buffer zone. He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £9,000 (about $11,600) after he was found guilty of breaching the ban around an abortion clinic.

With the support of ADF UK, Smith-Connor is appealing against his conviction. “Government simply cannot be allowed to determine the content of thoughts and prayers,” he said.

Smith-Connor served in Afghanistan. “I served 20 years in the Army Reserves to protect the fundamental freedoms this country was built on,” he added. “It really bothers me to see our freedoms being eroded to the extent that thought crimes are now being prosecuted in the UK”

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children in Great Britain criticized the new law, describing its passage as “a day of shame for England and Wales” and “a frightening moment in British history”.

Pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of March for Life UK, called the decision to pass the law a “national disgrace”.

Ahead of the CPS guidance, ADF UK launched a petition to deliver to government officials, which has gathered almost 60,000 signatures. The petition urged authorities to reconsider the legislation, saying it was responsible for “creating thought crime”.

Buffer zones have previously only been applied in five UK councils. The expansion of the law has led to debates over what constitutes harassment and the potential violation of freedom of thought and expression.

“The right to hold a consensual conversation or engage in silent prayer is the most basic of human rights,” Igunnubole argued. “They are firmly protected by international legal provisions on freedom of thought and expression.”

Labor officials have replaced draft guidance from the previous Conservative government, which had suggested silent prayer should be allowed in new “safe access areas”. Instead, current guidance prohibits any attempt to influence a woman’s decision about abortion in buffer zones.