The light of Christ and the law

Claire Brennan is a Catholic mother of four who was arrested in October last year while praying inside a so-called “safe-access zone” at Causeway Hospital in Derry.

Brennan (52), of Doneysheil Road, Rasharkin, has a court date on December 2 and faces a fine up to £2,500 if convicted.

In legal terms, the charge is that she carried out a protest, either recklessly or with the intention of influencing a protected person in a “safe access zone”, a zone which she refused to leave.

This “safe access zone” law was first introduced by the Stormont Assembly in 2022 – with legislatures across these islands following suit. Indeed the Dublin Health minister has just introduced a similar law.

These laws have created zones of at least 100 metres around the entrances to abortion facilities. But critics insist these zones are not safe for the child in the womb nor do they protect women who are wounded by abortion, nor do they take into account the help that vulnerable women often receive at the gates of an abortion clinic.

Brennan has the backing of the advocacy group, Christian Concern, on human rights grounds.  Her co-accused David Hall, (39), of Kingsbury Gardens, Coleraine, pleaded guilty in May. He became the first person to be convicted under this draconian law. Hall was fined £250.

Convicted

Given the framing of the law, there is a high chance that Brennan will be convicted. So much for the pro-choice brigade who insist they do not want to ‘criminalise women’ over abortion.

When she was arrested Brennan was kneeling on a traffic island opposite the hospital praying with rosary beads and holding a sign which read, “Pray to end abortion”. There was also a banner with the image of Our Lady of Fatima.

Brennan now continues her prayer vigil these days outside the zone, one of eight in Northern Ireland hospitals.

“I feel this new law is next to communism,” she said, “that Jesus is being made voiceless so I am standing in the gap for Jesus and I am being a voice for him”.

There are complex rights issues at the heart of this law.

It was passed by the NI assembly in March, 2022, and was soon challenged in the UK Supreme Court by the NI Attorney General on the grounds it disproportionately interfered with the rights of those who wanted to express their opposition to abortion. There is after all in the European Convention of Human Rights the right to freedom of thought, religion, expression, conscience and assembly.

If the mere presence of someone praying nearby causes distress, what is it like for a woman seeing a baby pushed in a pram? Are we going to ban them too?”

The Supreme Court concluded the safe access zone was not disproportionate, and that rights are limited. It took into account the right to privacy, and freedom from harassment and intimidation, citing evidence that women entering facilities for an abortion are distressed by the “mere physical presence” of protestors: “Even a silent prayer vigil causes distress.”

Surely this is especially true for women who are conflicted about the decision? This law does not take into account abortion trauma, too often ignored, which can manifest itself in years of pain, in alcohol and drug addiction. The legal use of the word influence is troubling – as it could be argued that it upholds one choice only.

If the mere presence of someone praying nearby causes distress, what is it like for a woman seeing a baby pushed in a pram? Are we going to ban them too?

What about the influences towards abortion? Would anyone on the pro-choice side advocate a law preventing a man offering cash with the words, “Get rid of it?”

These laws criminalise not just prayer in a particular place but the ‘good samaritan’ who is not allowed to offer help, even though there are plenty of women who testify that it was a leaflet – or the welcome offer of practical help at the gates of an abortion clinic – which saved their child’s life.

In Northern Ireland, this law was spearheaded by the Green Party leader Clare Bailey, who had previously volunteered as a “client escort” for Marie Stopes Clinic in Belfast.

When this clinic opened up, after one of the most liberal abortion laws was imposed on Northern Ireland by Westminster, Brennan joined other pro-life advocates outside the clinic.

“I was outraged,” she told The Irish Catholic. “And a holy anger came upon me. I had just had a daughter who is now 12. She was just born and I was outside the abortion facility when we were doing a demonstration, and I was breastfeeding my newborn baby outside Marie Stopes.”

Impact

Brennan believes it was prayer which had the biggest impact on Marie Stopes’s closure in Belfast after five years.

Subsequently, Brennan continued her prayer vigils at the gates of Coleraine Hospital for a year and a half before she fell foul of the new law.

Abortion figures are generally under-reported in Northern Ireland, where 7,681 abortions have taken place as of February 15, 2024 since the new abortion law took effect in NI at the end of March 2020. These Department of Health figures were obtained by the TUV leader Jim Allister MP.

Safe access zone laws are also now in effect in Scotland, England and Wales, where prayer is not specifically banned”

There are as yet no specific figures for abortions at Causeway Hospital but it is known that 1,947 were carried out in the Northern Trust and Causeway is the only hospital ‘safe zone’ listed in this area. New figures are due shortly.

Safe access zone laws are also now in effect in Scotland, England and Wales, where prayer is not specifically banned though silent prayer has been criminalised through Public Safety Protection Orders imposed by some councils in England. New guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service in Britain indicates that people  who silently pray (that is in their heads and hearts) are not automatically prosecuted but it is a risk.

Brennan urged others not to be afraid to take a stand. If convicted she risks prison if she refuses to pay a fine. “I know that going to prison won’t be easy but I believe that nothing will happen without the will of God. And if it is the case that I do have to spend a short time in prison, then I believe this will serve some purpose for the greater good.”