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Rachael Clarke remembers life before buffer zones. Almost every day, the head of staff at the UK’s biggest abortion provider would get emails from staff worried about protesters outside clinics – and women crying in the waiting room.

Since buffer zones were rolled out nationally late last year – building on public space protection orders that were already in place outside some clinics – she says things have drastically improved.

Reports of alleged harassment outside British Pregnancy Advisory Service clinics have stopped almost completely. So when she heard JD Vance, the US vice-president, decrying buffer zone laws as an attack on the “liberties of religious Britons” in a speech on Friday at the Munich Security Conference – and condemning the conviction of a man, Adam Smith-Connor, who he said had been targeted for “just silently praying on his own” – she wasn’t impressed. “You can’t see these things in isolation,” she says.

Rather than being a one-off, Clarke sees the Smith-Connor case as part of a wider effort by anti-abortion campaigners to test the new law to the limits – and shift the focus away from the true reason for buffer zones to a debate about freedom of speech.

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[-] wirebeads@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 weeks ago

Religion poisons everything.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

I am an American who recently moved to the UK, and I am always waiting for some fallout to happen because of my accent- deservedly so because of things like this. I am constantly amazed when people say, "I love Americans!" Don't, this is what we're doing to you. I mean I'm glad I don't get shit all the time, but maybe, even if I don't personally deserve it, "I love Americans" is the wrong attitude at this point?

[-] RedAggroBest@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I often find those same people can follow up "I love Americans" with "I hate America" just as easily. Americans have a pretty friendly and (almost overly-)gregarious reputation, despite our govt's best efforts to play international bad guy

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Right, but Americans are coming over and doing this shit, not the government.

[-] RedAggroBest@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

JD Vance isn't part of the government? Nothing in this article is a civilian doing anything, unless you mean more than this article with "this shit" at which point I'm lost and you'll need to expand your point for me.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

As the article says, Vance is far from the only one doing this.

[-] RedAggroBest@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

You're really going to have to clarify on "this". I really am not trying to be obtuse but as far as I see, Americans aren't going on vacation in Europe to protest abortion or making speeches in support of right wing populists. It's govt officials doing that. American tourists are friendly on average.

[-] OwlPaste@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

Vance, go back to your couch fucking you shirty twat, no one wants you here.

[-] Pondis@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

The most British response I have ever read.

[-] OwlPaste@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Sorry i forgot to mention i was sipping me tea there mate.

this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2025
71 points (97.3% liked)

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