Abortion Clinic Protester Prosecuted Over Bible Verse to Cite Human Rights Convention

Stephen Green, holding a Bible, stands outside Uxbridge Magistrates Court in Uxbridge, England on Oct. 17, 2023. The Epoch Times

UXBRIDGE—A Christian preacher who held up a sign with a verse from the Bible within a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic in London has pleaded not guilty to breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) and will cite the European human rights convention at his trial.

The sign said: “Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”

Stephen Green, 72, from south Wales, is being prosecuted by Ealing Council under section 67 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

The council passed a PSPO in April 2018, which forbids, “protesting, namely engaging in an act of approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services.”

Mr. Green, who is director of the campaign group Christian Voice, was held to be in breach of the PSPO for holding the sign outside a MSI (Maries Stopes International) Reproductive Choices clinic in Mattock Lane, Ealing on Feb. 6, 2023.

He allegedly left the area before police arrived but a member of staff at the clinic made a formal complaint.

Mr. Green appeared at Uxbridge magistrates court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His solicitor, Robert Smith, told the court: “My client does not accept the charge against him. He does not believe his actions were in breach of the order.”

Citing Human Rights Convention

Mr. Smith said his client would be citing his rights under Articles 9 and 10 of the convention of the European Court of Human Rights.

Article 9 enshrines the “freedom of thought, belief and religion” and Article 10 protects “freedom of expression.”

People attend an anti-abortion pro-life vigil on the street outside the Marie Stopes clinic, which offers contraception and abortion services, in Ealing, west London, on April 21, 2018. Alice Ritchie/AFP via Getty Images

The case was adjourned for a trial on Jan. 19, 2024, and the court heard most of the evidence would be about the legal definition of the order and whether Mr. Green’s actions could be protected by the Human Rights Convention.

If convicted he could face a maximum sentence of six months in prison or a £1,000 fine.

Outside court Mr. Green told The Epoch Times, “I was there to protest against the principle of buffer zones and not abortion as such.”

He said he had carried out the same protest at abortion clinics in Ealing, Twickenham, Bournemouth, Manchester and Birmingham and he said the police in Bournemouth had been in attendance and had taken no action.

Theologian to be Expert Witness

Mr. Smith said the Bible verse in question did not mention abortion at all, and he said they would be calling an expert theologian, Dr. Martin Parsons, to testify at the trial.

According to Christian Concern, the charge sheet accused Mr. Green of, “engaging in an act of disapproval or attempted act of act of disapproval with respect to issues related to abortion services, by written means in that you were holding a large sign displaying the text ‘Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.'”

PSPO are usually reserved for anti-social behaviour such as littering, alcohol misuse and prostitution, but Ealing Council became the first council to pass one in an attempt to stop what they said was the harassment of women who were already in a very distressed state.

In Jan. 2023, following an amendment to the Public Order Bill, similar buffer zones around abortion clinics were introduced across England.

The bill was granted Royal Assent in May, after which Louise McCudden, UK head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices, welcomed it and said, “With legislation already in place in Northern Ireland, and the Scottish government committed to taking action, soon abortion access will be free from harassment and distress across the whole of the UK.”

She added, “In the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v Wade last year, we see anti-choice activity outside clinics around the world, so it’s especially heartening to see the UK taking the lead in protecting reproductive rights.”

In 2019, a man called Christian Hacking was arrested for praying outside the same clinic but the charges were dropped when the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was, “not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.”