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Britain has banned protests outside abortion clinics, but silent prayer is a gray area

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Britain has banned protests outside abortion clinics, but silent prayer is a gray area
News

News

Britain has banned protests outside abortion clinics, but silent prayer is a gray area

2024-10-31 21:46 Last Updated At:21:50

LONDON (AP) — A British ban on protesting outside abortion clinics went into effect on Thursday, though it left a question mark over whether anti-abortion demonstrators who pray silently will be breaking the law.

The law, which applies to England and Wales, bars protests within 150 meters (164 yards) of clinics. Scotland and Northern Ireland, which make their own health policies, recently enacted similar bans.

The new rules make it an offense to obstruct someone using abortion services, “intentionally or recklessly” influence their decision, or cause “harassment, alarm or distress.” Offenders face a fine, with no upper limit.

The buffer zone rule was passed 18 months ago as part of the previous Conservative government’s Public Order Act, but wrangling over whether it would apply to silent prayer protests, and a change in government in July, have delayed it taking effect.

The Crown Prosecution Service says silent prayer near an abortion clinic “will not necessarily commit a criminal offense,” and police say they will assess each case individually.

Anti-abortion campaigners and religious groups argue that banning silent-prayer protests would be an affront to freedom of religion. But pro-choice campaigners say silent anti-abortion demonstrators are often intimidating to women entering clinics.

“It’s difficult to see how anyone choosing to perform their prayers right outside an abortion clinic could argue they aren’t attempting to influence people — and there are countless testimonies from women who say this makes them feel distressed,” said Louise McCudden, U.K. head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices, one of Britain’s biggest abortion providers.

In March 2023, lawmakers rejected a change to the legislation proposed by some conservative legislators that would have explicitly allowed silent prayer within the buffer zones. The final rules are a potentially messy compromise that is likely to be tested in court.

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

But Bishop John Sherrington of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said the government had “taken an unnecessary and disproportionate step backwards” on religious freedom.

“Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one’s private beliefs in public through witness, prayer and charitable outreach, including outside abortion facilities,” he said.

Abortion is not as divisive an issue in the U.K. as in the U.S., where women’s access to terminations has been rolled back, and banned in some states, since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 2022.

Abortion was partly legalized in Britain by the 1967 Abortion Act, which allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy if two doctors approve. Later abortions are allowed in some circumstances, including danger to the mother’s life.

But women who have abortions after 24 weeks in England and Wales can be prosecuted under the 1861 Offenses Against the Person Act.

Last year a 45-year-old woman in England was sentenced to 28 months in prison for ordering abortion pills online to induce a miscarriage when she was 32 to 34 weeks pregnant. After an outcry, her sentence was reduced.

A plaque shows the site of the first birth control clinic, opened by Dr Marie Stopes, in London, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. A British ban on protesting outside abortion clinics went into effect on Thursday, though it left a question mark over whether anti-abortion demonstrators who pray silently will be breaking the law. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

A plaque shows the site of the first birth control clinic, opened by Dr Marie Stopes, in London, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. A British ban on protesting outside abortion clinics went into effect on Thursday, though it left a question mark over whether anti-abortion demonstrators who pray silently will be breaking the law. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

A plaque shows the site of the first birth control clinic, opened by Dr Marie Stopes, in London, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. A British ban on protesting outside abortion clinics went into effect on Thursday, though it left a question mark over whether anti-abortion demonstrators who pray silently will be breaking the law. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

A plaque shows the site of the first birth control clinic, opened by Dr Marie Stopes, in London, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. A British ban on protesting outside abortion clinics went into effect on Thursday, though it left a question mark over whether anti-abortion demonstrators who pray silently will be breaking the law. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

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Stock market today: Wall Street opens lower as Big Tech stocks pull back

2024-10-31 21:41 Last Updated At:21:50

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is feeling the downside of high expectations as Microsoft and Meta Platforms lead U.S. stock indexes lower despite delivering strong profits for the summer. The S&P 500 was down 0.8% in early trading Thursday and edging further from its record set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 207 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% lower. Microsoft and Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, were among the biggest weights on the market. Nvidia and Apple also fell. Treasury yields continued their climb after a mixed set of reports on the U.S. economy.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street pointed toward losses early Thursday and potentially the first losing month since April in what has been a red-hot year for U.S. markets.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.7% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.5%.

Microsoft fell 3.6% overnight after the tech giant reported better profit than expected, but disappointed investors who were looking for bigger AI-related growth.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, also posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, but warned that it expected a “significant acceleration” in infrastructure spending next year as it continues to pour money into developing AI. Meta shares lost 2.6% overnight.

Ebay tumbled 7.2% after it issued a conservative forecast despite meeting Wall Street's sales and profit expectations.

Online travel company Bookings Holdings, which owns Priceline.com and Kayak, climbed more than 6% after it easily outdistanced analysts' profit and sales targets.

Uber slid 5.3% after the ride-hailing app after reported that gross bookings growth slowed, overshadowing its strong third-quarter results.

In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 slipped 1%, Germany's DAX fell 0.6% and Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.8%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.5% to finish at 39,081.25. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 8,160.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.1% to 20,359.95, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.4% to 3,279.82.

South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.5% to 2,556.15 after North Korea test launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to be able to hit the U.S. mainland in a move that was likely meant to grab America's attention ahead of Election Day.

Markets also were watching the Bank of Japan, which kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25%. Japan is also facing political uncertainty after its governing party, tainted by campaign financing scandals, lost its majority in the lower house of parliament in elections last weekend.

Upcoming earnings releases in Asia, as well as the rest of the world, also added to the wait-and-see mood.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 43 cents to $69.04 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 48 cents to $72.64 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar slipped to 152.70 Japanese yen from 153.31 yen. The euro cost $1.0868, up from $1.0858.

A sign marking the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in New York's Financial District is shown on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

A sign marking the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in New York's Financial District is shown on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Tokyo, on Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Tokyo, on Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - A person stands near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - A person stands near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

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