Why do MPs want Catholics arrested for praying silently?

Why do MPs want Catholics arrested for praying silently outside abortion centres? 

Most MPs who voted for this extraordinary piece of legislation have done so because they believe the propaganda of the abortionists "Back Off!" campaign. This campaign supported by most of the mainstream Media, both in print and broadcast, has given a very negative false impression of Pro-Life vigils and MPs believing these lies have voted, in large numbers to ban our charitable work. In fact more Conservative MPs voted for the Labour amendment to the Public Order Bill, -which introduces a national buffer zone - than voted against it. Labour MPs who are worried about other aspects of the Public Order Bill have put these worries to one side and voted for it anyway to ensure that our vigils are banned! This unity amongst MPs from opposing parties is most striking and reminds me of a part in The Lord of the Rings, where Frodo and Sam, having entered Mordor, hear two orcs arguing and fighting amongst themselves. Sam says to Frodo that if we just left our enemies to themselves they would kill each other off. But Frodo points out, that had the Orcs discovered the two Hobbits they would have put their squabbling to one side and would have had a united determination to kill them, to destroy what is good in this world. I can only look at Conservative, Labour, Plaid Cymru, SNP and Liberal Democrat MPs and see those two orcs squabbling, until they were united in their attempt to destroy what is good. We are the Hobbits.

But I'm sad to say that some politicians are so blinded by their hate for the good and charitable works that we do that they are prepared to lie or can no longer see the truth when it is there for them to see. Before the first buffer zone was introduced by Ealing Council one of the councillors came to the abortion centre in Mattock Lane to witness for herself the terrible horrendous demonstrations being carried out there by Pro-Lifers. When she arrived on the scene she turned to a woman standing in the street and asked her politely, if she knew where the Pro-Life demonstration was, the woman told her that she and the one other person standing there were the pro-life vigil. The counsellor had not even noticed them because they had such a peaceful, prayerful presence. Then back in the council chamber she was able to tell the other councillors that she herself had been to witness the pro-life vigil and was terrified and she could only imagine what it would be like for a pregnant woman going to the centre for an abortion!

Fortunately, it is not for me to judge which politicians voted for this ban in good faith and which did not, I will leave that to God.

We know that evil likes to work in darkness and in hiding, and the abortion providers do not really want people to see anything that they do. If you look at the Good Counsel Network’s blog post for Friday the 22nd of March 2013 you will see that we were in the middle of a 40 Days for Life campaign outside the abortion centre in Ealing. Five ambulances came there in just a month. Safe, Legal Abortion?

Abortion Providers are always striving to portray Pro-lifers as liars, especially when we talk about the risks of abortion. marie stopes International, that bastion of honesty and integrity, takes it upon themselves to take our leaflets from women as they enter their centres.

Yet, as the many ambulances called to Marie abortion centres show, abortion is far from the safe, simple procedure with no after-affects that these groups pretend it is. Since BPAS and marie stopes deny almost every complication of abortion, it is hard to believe that the women who were taken away in these ambulances were forewarned that this was a possible outcome.

Many times, our volunteers have helped sick and faint girls to their feet outside the abortion centre when they were vomiting or bleeding heavily and struggling with pain as they came out after their abortions.

There were 29 women who kept their babies during that 40 Days for Life campaign from just the vigils at Whitfield Street and Ealing.

As always, we ensured that any women entering the abortion centre were NOT captured in any of the pictures taken. However the abortion centre would rather that we were not there, as thousands of people were made aware of the number of ambulances arriving at this abortion centre. Moving us 150 yards away at some abortion centres would mean that we would be incapable of seeing any ambulances arriving or leaving and that the fiction that abortion is safe will be allowed to continue.

For years we have had listen to lies from the media, politicians and abortion providers claiming that Pro-Lifers film clients going into abortion centres. Just last week we had Rupa Huq MP, claiming in Parliament that we live-stream from outside abortion centres. The Guardian have repeated all those claims time and time again. Yet no images of women entering or leaving abortion centres which have been taken by pro-lifers have ever appeared on social media or in the public domain. This is because pro-lifers DON'T photograph or film women entering abortion centres. We are there to offer help to pregnant Mums, it is unlikely that the hundreds of women that stop to talk to us would do so if we were filming. 

Rupa Huq MP said on National television that, no one should ever protest outside an abortion centre. Yes, that's her fifth from the left, protesting outside the Ealing abortion centre the very next day, with her pro-abortion supporters.

Back in 2017, the Guardian, who claim to be supporting women, published a photo of two women leaving the abortion centre in Ealing. A 'pro-choice feminist' group calling itself Sister Supporter have also put up an image of another women attending this abortion centre. The Guardian only removed their photo after complaints from dozens of Pro-Lifers.

So once again it is clear that the Pro-Lifers are there to help and respect women and the abortion campaigners are not.

Before the first buffer zone came in, in Ealing we reported 2,674 reasons why BPAS and Marie Stopes need buffer zones.  2,257 less abortions in Ealing and Twickenham Abortion Centres during 2016 than in 2015. As well as abortions in Birmingham having dropped by 417.

Making a total reduction of 2,674 abortions, just from these 3 abortion centres.
And it's still true to say:

Wherever there is a full-time prayerful presence at an abortion centre, with real help available, abortion figures drop. This is why abortion providers like Marie Stopes and BPAS want buffer zones

According to department of health statistics,

Marie Stopes Ealing performed 7,459 of abortions in 2015

Marie Stopes Ealing performed 6,484 abortions in 2016
That's a drop of 13%

BPAS Twickenham performed 7,325 abortions in 2015

BPAS Twickenham performed 6043 abortions 2016.
That's a drop of 17.5%

Every life is infinitely precious. Don't let them make us back off! Allow women real options!
Anyone in business can tell you that a drop of between 13 and 17.5% in your income could easily see a company go out of business.

For many years pro-lifers had spent a couple of hours on Saturday mornings praying outside abortion centres across this country. In September 2010 40 Days for Life started in London, outside Marie Stopes abortion centre in Whitfield Street. Pro-lifers were now there 12 hours a day 7-days a week, we were shining a light in the darkness. After this daily prayer vigils were taken up by the Good Counsel Network. 40 Days for Life campaigns spread across London and across the country. Hundreds of pro-lifers were spending thousands of hours outside abortion centres. The number of abortions were dropping, the number of women receiving help was increasing all of this shows the logical reasons why the pro-abortion lobby wanted to ban us. But now we come on to the spiritual side of things.

Many of the women who changed their minds on the doorsteps of an abortion centre have told us that they had prayed for a sign from God and arriving at the abortion centre to find a small group of people, sometimes only one or two, praying, they took to be their sign from God. One mother who kept her baby had told God, having just been to Church on her way to the abortion centre, that she needed a sign and if it was not a big sign she would not be sure that it was a sign from Him and that she would not accept it. She arrived at Bedford Square abortion centre in London and found twenty Pro-Lifers praying there with a Priest and Bishop Bernard Longley, now Archbishop of Birmingham. She recognised that the Bishop’s presence was her sign and kept her baby.

The fact that silent prayer by one individual outside an abortion centre, prayer in their own mind is going to be made illegal is a clear sign that this battle is spiritual. There is no practical reason why the MPs would vote to ban silent prayer by one person within 150 metres of an abortion centre. The proof of this is quite simple, step out of your front door walk 149 metres without turning back to look at your front door say quietly in your head 'God please let abortion end' and then look back to your door, see how far away you are. Anybody going into your front door would not know you were standing 149 yards away praying. There is no practical reason to ban prayer, the only reason to ban such prayer there, is because abortion providers and their supporters know better than we know it, that it is effective. How consciously or subconsciously the abortionists and their friends are aware of this I do not know, but I know that this is a spiritual battle.

The battle for respect for life from conception continues in the UK. Once again we have to find new ways to move forward. and we are working on that, but in the meanwhile, we cannot and do not accept a ban on silent prayer and offers of help. We need to stand up and fight this with all our might. We also need to actually attend the existing vigils while its legal to do so. No buffer zone is more effective than apathy and fear keeping us away from vigils. Please come to the peaceful pro-life vigils while it is still legal to do so. Please come to Brixton 40 Days for Life between now and 2nd April.

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Note; It was only after giving this talk on 16th March, that I noticed the Tweet pictured below, and thus found that I had quoted a part of The Lord of the Rings on the anniversary of that event taking place, as this Twitter account posts things on the dates that they took place!