Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin and Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh at the March for Life with other pro-life demonstrators in May 2024. Photo John McElroy The news that Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has received compensation in the form of a £13,000 payout and an apology from the UK police after she contested her arrests for silently praying in the vicinity of an abortion clinic as a breach of her human rights should be greeted with a degree of caution here in Ireland.
Vindicated
Vaughan-Spruce was vindicated through the Courts as both her arrests were quashed due to lack of evidence, and subsequently she contested her arrests as a breach of her human rights. She has described the arrest as Orewellian: “There is no place for Orwell’s ‘thought police’ in 21st Century Britain, and thanks to legal support I received from ADF UK, I’m delighted that the settlement that I have received today acknowledges that. Yet despite this victory, I am deeply concerned that this violation could be repeated at the hands of other police forces.”
The award comes just as UK ministers are attempting to review previous guidance which stated that: “Silent prayer, being the engagement of the mind and thought in prayer towards God, is protected as an absolute right under the Human Rights Act 1998 and should not, on its own, be considered to be an offence under any circumstances.”
Human rights in Ireland and the UK are closely linked under the Good Friday Agreement which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), under the UK Human Rights Act 1998, into Northern Irish law.
Although conceptually human rights are supposed to be ‘universal’ – applicable to everyone, everywhere, irrespective of the law, the reality is that all human rights are viewed as contingent on the common good and such things. Each human right under the ECHR is framed this way. No human rights is really absolute.
Coherence
But the Good Friday Agreement expects, implicitly, a degree of coherence between human rights interpretations between Ireland and the UK. Although no such guidance exists in Ireland on the human right to silent prayer, changes in the UK will likely be grasped by an Irish government keen to enforce the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Act 2024 which was signed into law by President Higgins on May 7 this year.
The Irish Law Bill also refers to churches that fall within the buffer zones. In Dublin, where the zones are likely to cover half the city, most churches will fall within them”
The law in Ireland is remarkably similar to that which Vaughan-Spruce was arrested under, and which was extended to Northern Ireland in September 2023. While the arrests may be deemed unlawful now, any changes to how the UK interprets the ‘human right’ or lack thereof, to pray silently, may be utilised in Ireland in the coming months and years by a parliament that voted 117 to 10 to introduce the law.
The Irish law includes a prohibition within 100 metres of “otherwise engaging in conduct directed at the public or a section of the public in a manner that is likely to influence the decision of a person in relation to availing of, or providing, termination of pregnancy services, with intent to influence the decision of such a person in relation to availing of, or providing, termination of pregnancy services, or being reckless as to whether such a decision is thereby so influenced”.
Interpretation
The interpretation of this subsection is likely to, if not immediately, include such actions as prayer, both silent and non-silent, and whether intentionally directed or prayer that may have been carried out “recklessly” and interpreted as having had some form of impact on a person with the intention of accessing an abortion.
Additionally, the Irish Law Bill also refers to churches that fall within the buffer zones. In Dublin, where the zones are likely to cover half the city, most churches will fall within them, particularly as churches and healthcare facilities are often located within the same area.
The Bill states that “nothing in section 2(2) (communicating and engaging) shall prohibit a person from engaging in lawful conduct that occurs inside a place of religious worship”. For clarity, the Bill says the “place of religious worship” means a building but “does not include the grounds or other land associated with the building”.
It means that any materials that could be construed as influencing someone attending for abortion services, and potentially prayers, on a Church grounds would be unlawful also. In the UK, the buffer zones are 150m. In Scotland, proposals are in place to extend the zones to 200m. Expect Ireland to follow suit.
It is clear under the current Government, just as what happens on private Church grounds is now subordinate to abortion rights in the safe access zones, religious freedom, the right to prayer and private thought, whenever they come into conflict with abortion rights and the new secular creed, are merely contingent rights.
We should expect similar cases to that of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce coming to the Irish courts in the future but we should not necessarily expect the same outcomes. Ireland has historically been a dogmatic country. It remains so. But the dogma has changed.