Paul Gardner was detained by police on November 1 while standing in front of two banners showing third-trimester babies both inside and outside the womb, along with an image of an aborted baby. According to The Telegraph, he was arrested under Section 4A of the Public Order Act after a passerby said the images caused offense.
Gardner was taken to the Cambridge police station and held for about six hours before being released. In a follow-up meeting, police said that no offense had actually been committed. The UK has expanded so-called buffer zones around abortion clinics in an effort to stop protests near the facilities.
Under a law passed last October, anyone who protests or even prays silently within 150 meters of a clinic or hospital that provides abortion services can face unlimited fines. The law prompted criticism from the United States earlier this year, with officials warning in August that such restrictions undermine the “shared values” of the two countries.
“I was very surprised when I heard I was under arrest. We were out on the street to inform the public about what most MPs have voted for… It feels absurd that I was arrested in Cambridge for showing what the MP for Cambridge approves,” Gardner said, according The Telegraph. “A woman came along and demanded to see some proof that we had a licence or something to demonstrate that we were allowed to be doing what we were doing.”
“We have documentation that covers the rights that we have, as well as information from a court case from about a decade ago that demonstrated in court that the things that we’re doing are legal.”
