An English pensioner is facing trial after holding up a sign near an abortion clinic in the city of Bournemouth which read: Here to talk if you want. While 62-year-old Livia Tossici-Bolt was holding up the sign several individuals approached her to discuss issues they were facing in their lives.
Local authorities accused her of breaching an abortion clinic buffer zone which bans expression of approval or disapproval of the procedure. Premier Christian News reports they issued a fine which Mrs. Tossici-Bolt refused to pay.
The retired medical scientist argued she had the right to offer consensual conversations. “We all condemn harassment. But buffer zones are going so far as even to criminalise activities which are peaceful and helpful. For several years now, I have been offering a helping hand to women who would like to consider other options to abortion, and pointing them to options where they can receive financial and practical support, if that’s what they would like. There’s nothing wrong with offering help. There’s nothing wrong with two adults engaging in a consensual conversation on the street. I shouldn’t be treated like a criminal just for this.”
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK which is acting for Mrs. Tossici-Bolt noted that: “Under vaguely-written local buffer zone measures, we have seen volunteers like Livia criminalised simply for offering help to women in need; and others dragged through courts for praying, even silently, in their minds.”
“The principle of freedom of thought and speech must be defended both within and outside buffer zones. The Home Office has sought to keep our country in line with international law by protecting freedom of thought and of consensual conversation in the draft buffer zone guidance. It is vital, for the preservation of democracy, that this stands,” he asserted.
It’s the second attempt to charge Mrs Tossici-Bolt. Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council recently apologised for causing her to feel “distressed and harassed” when officers attempted to move her from a public street. She was standing alone and holding a sign reading Pregnant? Need help? with a helpline number for women in crisis pregnancies. Authorities have since acknowledged that she was not within the censored buffer zone.
Photo: ADF UK
