The Mayor of London has reiterated his support for so-called ‘buffer zones’ which prevent pro-life help from being offered outside abortion clinics.
Noting the case of the country’s first arrest for praying in public outside an abortion clinic, London Assembly Member David Kurton asked Sadiq Khan what his thoughts were and whether such actions should be criminalised.
In response, Sadiq showed some hesitation, particularly around criminalising prayer, but outlined his full support of the Ealing Council’s ‘buffer zone’, saying: “I do not know about the facts of the case, and as somebody who himself prays, I would find it objectionable if somebody else is not allowed to pray or is criminalised.
“That is not saying anything about the facts of that case, which I just do not know about, but I think we have to be quite clear. There is a very good reason and a very sensible reason why the council supported those women and others in relation to this buffer zone. You are right, I fully support this buffer zone outside this clinic.”
However, in 2017, the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee heard that there was no probative evidence to suggest women were being harassed outside abortion facilities, whether in Ealing, Portsmouth, Birmingham, or elsewhere in the country.
In contrast, the Be Here for Me website tells just some of the many stories of women who have been helped by people outside abortion clinics.
The website, setup by mothers who offer pro-life help outside abortion clinics, outlines reasons to oppose ‘buffer zones’ amidst continued pressure from the UK’s largest abortion provider to introduce them out to all abortion clinics.
This isn’t the first time the Labour mayor has outlined his support for ‘buffer zones’.
In a statement read out at City Hall, Sadiq said: “I am very supportive of local authorities using enforcement tools at their disposal in an appropriate and targeted way and this is a good example of a local solution.”
He has claimed, in 2018, that those living in London would be “deeply disappointed” over the then Home Secretary’s decision not to roll out ‘buffer zones’ nationwide.
Sadiq finds himself entirely out of step with the views of those he is supposed to represent, given a recent Onward poll revealing London to be the most pro-life region of the country. More broadly only 1% of the population want abortion to be available up to birth and over 70% of women want the abortion limit to be reduced to 20 weeks or lower.
Despite this, Sadiq has continued to use his platform to push his extreme abortion views on the people of London.
Last year, he expressed his support for the pro-abortion group Abortion Rights and gave their countermarch to the UK’s March for Life his “full backing”. During the march, abortion activists chanted “we need abortions” while abortion survivor Melissa Ohden, was attempting to speak on stage:
