Freedom of Speech and of Thought Being Destroyed

[Unlucky4Sum]

The question is... Does she know what she is doing by travelling miles for silent prayer, something she can do from home.

Exactly.  She was there for the visual effect she would have on the women attending that clinic.  Something she couldn't do from home.

And seems several posters above haven't worked out that while she may have been silent she may very well have been very visibly praying in the direction of the other women, maybe even mouthing the words.  She had to be doing something as how else was it known she was praying.

[Borg Refinery]

I really hoped society would edge towards being freer come the 2020s, but everything is going backwards in the West and in many parts of the world - very likely the entire world.

It's the same here in the USA as in England; you might not like the Palestine protesters or even the right-wing protesters; you might not like the way they behave at big events, but the way the police treat them is often very brutal. They do say that riot police are often specially picked - ones chosen for riot policing often enjoy "batting" protesters over the head, they don't pick the nice ones most of the time.

I've had all good interactions as regards cops here in the USA, that was also the case 90% of the time in England, but I saw how they behaved at the G20 in England and they attacked peaceful protesters first, they ran at them with police horses. That's absolutely not acceptable in a supposedly civilised country, no one did anything to deserve a stomping by a horse other than have the wrong political views, the majority peaceful protesters absolutely did not attack first - that was under a Labour government too.

They killed Ian Tomlinson and there was no justice for that either as I recall. I expect things to continue going backwards as regards protest while they hypocritically call out countries like Russia, North Korea and others when even Russia doesn't fecking outlaw "silent prayer" outside clinics. Yes, even Russia does not do such things.

[Scott777]

Can't think of any other reason?

How about, praying that the unborn children or foetuses do not suffer?

[Borg Refinery]

Standing outside a clinic and being completely silent isn't intimidation, if it is, then anyone standing outside parliament should be arrested immediately, if they're not already doing that that is in the police state..

[Scott777]

Why do you think Isabel Vaughan-Spruce a known anti abortionist was making herself prominently visible in the vicinity of that clinic that had a Public Spaces Protection Order?

It may not have met the test for prosecution but she didn't just happen to be visibly praying there on multiple occasions.  She was looking to cause stress to women at a very difficult time in their lives.

She was not visibly praying.  What makes you think she was looking to cause stress?

[Nick]

I agree about abortion being treated like it's nothing, that's very evil indeed. But I don't think it's nice to live in a country where freedom of expression (protest) such as silent prayer is outlawed and police treat that as intimidation.

If that's intimidation, it opens the door to all kinds of other things being counted as the same. That's the slippery slope argument.

The question is... Does she know what she is doing by travelling miles for silent prayer, something she can do from home.

[Borg Refinery]

It's not the silence, it's the intimidation of knowing an activist as sitting outside a place where I'm sure no woman really wants to go to. People like Barbara Windsor who used abortion like a contraceptive have done untold damage, I see rape or severe disability as a justified reason, not what Babs did.

I agree about abortion being treated like it's nothing, that's very evil indeed. But I don't think it's nice to live in a country where freedom of expression (protest) such as silent prayer is outlawed and police treat that as intimidation.

If that's intimidation, it opens the door to all kinds of other things being counted as the same. That's the slippery slope argument.

[Nick]

Is silent prayer intimidation?

That's terrible, guess the Church of England should shut down for intimidating all those people with silent prayers.

It's not the silence, it's the intimidation of knowing an activist as sitting outside a place where I'm sure no woman really wants to go to. People like Barbara Windsor who used abortion like a contraceptive have done untold damage, I see rape or severe disability as a justified reason, not what Babs did. 

[Borg Refinery]

Can't think of any other reason?

Is silent prayer intimidation?

That's terrible, guess the Church of England should shut down for intimidating all those people with silent prayers.

[Nick]

"One" would be making an ass out of themselves by assuming.

Can't think of any other reason?

[Barry]

One would assume she is trying to intimidate other women.

"One" would be making an ass out of themselves by assuming. 

[Barry]

Some things are bleeding obvious

Go on give us your alternative theory as to why she repeatedly travelled miles from her home to be visibly praying outside an abortion clinic.

No, you don't have any more evidence than the police.
What does "visibly praying" look like. Is it audible? Can you see the prayer waves leaving someone's head?

[Borg Refinery]

Really. You can read minds now? Isn't that what the Police have been doing saying someone was praying in their heads, silently?

Welcome to the insane police state, where praying (silently) is illegal and "intimidation"

[Nick]

Some things are bleeding obvious

Go on give us your alternative theory as to why she repeatedly travelled miles from her home to be visibly praying outside an abortion clinic.

One would assume she is trying to intimidate other women. 

[Unlucky4Sum]

Really. You can read minds now? Isn't that what the Police have been doing saying someone was praying in their heads, silently?

Some things are bleeding obvious

Go on give us your alternative theory as to why she repeatedly travelled miles from her home to be visibly praying outside an abortion clinic.