Christian prayer will likely be an unquestioned activity within the UK, often constructed as benign and even positive. However, in some contexts prayer could be perceived as intimidating, particularly when it is taken into account ‘out of place’ or when the motives for prayer are questioned.
It isn’t any wonder that the majority people consider prayer outside of abortion clinics to be improper. British public opinion.
Following the laws – which was passed, but not yet approved – to stop activism within the immediate vicinity of all abortion clinics within the UK, anti-abortion activists have he reacted stronglyarguing that introducing regulations prohibiting silent prayer could be a violation of their human rights.
However, anti-abortion activities in UK clinics are very diverse and should not limited to practices of silent prayer. Our research on anti-abortion activism within the UK has shown that what happens during protests can change from hour to hour, depending on the people present.
Some protesters will try to attach with patients, others will say prayers – either out loud or silently – while others will hold signs or candles. Some will hand out leaflets or rosaries.
Many anti-abortion activists to argue that praying outside abortion clinics offers women alternative and support, and this is able to be especially vital if these women were forced to have abortions.
Yet activists’ deeply held faith-based opposition to abortion often prevents them from understanding the intimidation and harm the practice causes. could causeTheir position also ignores the indisputable fact that pressuring someone to proceed a pregnancy can also be a form of coercion.
Just prayer?
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Although many anti-abortion activists claim they’re “just praying,” women who come to abortion services do not know of the intentions of anti-abortion activists. For example, many ladies anxious or fearful because they do not know the way far activists will go to stop them from entering the clinic.
Anti-abortion activists often deny that intimidation occurs, yet in our fieldwork we witnessed women being persistently harassed and followed at short distances, even when the protests were advertised as “peaceful prayer vigils.”
While physical violence between anti-abortion activists, clinic users, or most of the people is rare, it still happens. Such incidents is probably not initiated by anti-abortion activists, and at times protesters may even be targets of violence and harassment from others.
However, the presence of anti-abortion activists in front of clinics makes the space intimidating and increases the chance potential violence.
It also has a negative impact on life. local residents who speak about their concerns about not with the ability to understand the motives of random strangers hanging around their homes, especially after dark.
It’s not only most of the people that sees the negative impact of anti-abortion activism. We have Christians being interrogated who oppose abortion but nonetheless recognize that being outside of abortion clinics just isn’t only inappropriate but additionally constitutes an “abuse of prayer.”
This view just isn’t shared only by laypeople. We also found some Catholic priests didn’t support prayers outside abortion clinics.
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Public shaming
Bringing public attention to the difficulty of abortion is central point of justification anti-abortion activists. Standing outside abortion clinics, anti-abortion activists invite passersby to concentrate to the service and the people using it. The protest goals to make the choice about private health care a public spectacle.
While the overwhelming majority within the UK supporting access to abortionit stays stigmatized. By standing outside clinics, anti-abortion activists try to encourage public shaming as a approach to deter abortion.
These two key points – individual intimidation and public shaming – have been recognised by courts within the UK, which have sought to uphold the buffer zones that exist already in several areas.
This Supreme Court found that the human rights of anti-abortion activists in Northern Ireland were restricted once they were prevented from being present outside an abortion service, but that this was a needed and proportionate measure to guard the rights of women looking for abortions. It is especially ironic that anti-abortion activists complain in regards to the loss of their very own freedom while looking for to limit freedom of others noted.
Anti-abortion activists may claim to be out in clinics to support women, but our research shows that their actions are a form of reproductive coercion. Their prayers, including silent prayers, are a central part of that strategy.
It is significant to appreciate that their actions actually constitute persecution of women through intimidation and public shaming, they usually should direct their prayers elsewhere.