The Home Office has said that it is considering banning anti-abortion campaigners from silently praying outside clinics. A law was passed last year which introduced buffer zones – which would extend 150m from the clinics – to protect women from protesters, but it has yet to come into effect. Draft guidance published in December 2023 stated that silent prayer, as well as “consensual communication” such as handing out leaflets, should be allowed inside the new “safe access zones”. Ministers are now understood to be reviewing this guidance, though it is not certain which aspects of the guidance w…
