A Christian man was arrested in October for praying in an exclusion zone outside an Ealing abortion clinic. The clinic has called for such ‘buffers’ to be instituted around all UK abortion clinics.
Wheelchair user, Christian Hacking was praying outside the Marie Stopes clinic. They called the police, and the police warned Hacking that he was in breach of the Public Space Protection Order around the clinic. As he prayed he told the officers: ‘I don’t think you have a constitutional right to stop someone from praying, so I’m going to continue praying here until you remove me, forcibly ... what’s more important is that God’s law is upheld in this nation and not the law of those who govern this nation and not this ludicrous law that says people can’t pray’.
Hacking asked the police officer if it was a criminal offence for him to pray in that location. The officer said: ‘I’m saying you’re in breach of the court order.’ Hacking responded: ‘So it’s a criminal offence to pray… ?’ The officer then stated: ‘I believe that I’ve given you the answer.’
