Pro-Life campaigners in Britain and Ireland face a wave of legislation which is going to make our work even harder and more dangerous.
The chief problem in the UK is a new definition of the term ‘extremism’, currently being worked on by the Home Office.
It’s presented as being aimed at Muslim extremists, but Christians must be wary. We’ve been here before. New laws supposed to be aimed at terrorism or extremism always end up threatening rather than protecting religious freedom.
Christian street preachers have been arrested for speaking of the Bible's position on homosexuality. The proposed strengthening of the defence of modern British 'values' such as enthusiasm for all things LGBTQ poses a serious threat to Bible-true preachers.
Just consider the way ‘British values’ requirements were applied in schools. Ofsted’s British values inspections have been used to force religious schools to teach same-sex marriage or potentially face closure! British liberal 'values' are 'woke'.
So when we hear that a new definition of extremism is being developed that will “go further than the current definition”, alarm bells should be sounding. The existing definition – using the term “fundamental British values”, which includes the liberal obsession for "tolerance of different faiths and beliefs” – has already been problematic in schools, as we’ve seen.
The alarm bells should get even louder when we’re told the new extremism definition will “encompass more groups and individuals whose behaviour falls short of terrorism but helps to ‘create a climate conducive to terrorism, hate crime and other violence’”.
Remember too that abortion is regarded by most of the political and media elite as a fundamental ‘right’ for women and as a huge step forward. Conversely, to oppose abortion is to go against “basic human rights and liberal values”. That makes us ‘extremists’ too!
Defining extremism to include ‘creating a climate conducive to hate crime’ is profoundly concerning, in a context where a world-famous author can be branded a hatemonger simply for opposing self-ID sex changes.
Meanwhile, Pro-Life campaigners in Ireland face even tougher restrictions against their work for unborn children. The Irish Parliament has approved a Bill banning pro-life witness outside abortion centres.
The Health (Termination of Pregnancy) (Safe Access Zones) Bill will soon become law.
The legislation will ban any pro-life presence within 100 metres of facilities where abortion services are provided, including abortion centres, women’s health clinics, and GP surgeries.
During the debate, Senator Mullen said: “It is quite clear that this legislation is unprecedented. It interferes with normal freedom of expression in a very surprising and unexpected way.”
He said that “solid and responsible citizens” could be put at risk of public harassment by the gardaí, simply for “objecting to something they regard as a breach of fundamental authentic human rights”.
The Senator was critical of the way the legislation had been pushed through by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD: “The Minister has got an easy win for himself by caving in to an activist group and by attacking the peaceful expression of dissent on abortion.
“He has nothing to be proud of here I am afraid. He has praised his officials for working night and day on an agenda to deprive the basic freedom of witnessing the dignity of every human life born and unborn.
“There is nothing safe about safe access zones. There is nothing safe about what happens to the unborn child in an abortion.”