Scottish Parliament moves a step closer to criminalising private thoughts

The Scottish Parliament has moved closer to criminalising private thoughts following a committee of MSPs expressing general support for a new law which will establish buffer zones around abortion centres, and which anticipates the criminalisation of silent prayer.

The Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has been gathering evidence from individuals and organisations with an interest in the proposal to establish buffer zones, including Bishop John Keenan, Bishop of Paisley, who gave evidence to the committee in March. The committee has now published its Stage 1 report, expressing broad support for the proposed law. 

The buffer zone proposal, put forward by Green MSP Gillian MacKay, would criminalise any action aimed at persuading someone not to access abortion or to consider an alternative, within 200 metres of premises carrying out abortions. It would become illegal to act in a way designed to influence decisions, hand out leaflets, hold up banners or placards. Incredibly, the proposal also anticipates criminalising praying audibly and silent vigils.

The report states that the committee had extensive discussion on the issue of silent prayer and “remains unclear how the intent of those silently praying can be interpreted”. The committee admits, quite reasonably, that “it could be difficult for the police to reach a clear decision whether the law has been broken by people standing silently praying, in the absence of any other behaviour”.

The report then admits to a “difference of views” within the Committee on the issue of whether there should be an “explicit exemption from the provisions of the Bill for silent prayer, in order to avoid any criminalisation of private thoughts”.

In his evidence on the possibility of policing ‘thought’, Superintendent Gerry Corrigan of Police Scotland, told the committee that the police could not “go down the road of asking people what they are thinking or what their thoughts are”, admitting that it makes him feel “really uncomfortable”.

Yet, despite these serious and obvious concerns regarding the policing of thought, the committee has stopped short of a specific recommendation to ensure silent prayer is explicitly exempted from the proposed law. The report will now be shared with all MSPs with a debate and vote scheduled to take place next Tuesday 30th April.

This means you have time to contact your MSPs before the vote. Please use this tool to contact your MSPs and encourage them to reject the criminalisation of silent prayer, and the establishment of thought crime in Scotland, by voting against the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill when it comes before the Parliament on Tuesday 30th April.