Pro-life activist in England fined for Bible verse outside abortion clinic
Christian Stephen Green is appealing the court’s decision that found him guilty for reading the Bible and displaying a verse from the Psalms outside an abortion clinic in London.
Christian activist Stephen Green has applied to the UK High Court, demanding a review of his criminal case. As the website Christian Today reports, a court found Green guilty of breaching public order outside a clinic in London’s Ealing district for holding a placard with a Bible quotation.
Green stood with the words of Psalm 139:13: “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” Witnesses said the man also read the Bible aloud.
A magistrates’ court treated this as an “act of protest of abortion," prohibited under a special local authority order establishing a “buffer zone.” Green was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £26 and a costs order of £2,400, however he indicated that he would not be paying as a matter of principle.
In his appeal, Green stressed that these zones effectively create “censored areas” where prayer, reading Scripture, and peaceful expressions of believers become criminally punishable.
Ahead of the High Court hearing, the man stated: “As a Christian I should be able to preach freely all over the land. Psalm 139 is about how we all belong to God from conception. Buffer zones and this conviction is a direct attack on the Bible and free speech, which is being licenced by the state. I have no choice but to continue to defend myself and fight for justice.”
"If it is now a criminal offence to hold a sign with a verse from Psalm 139 on it in a London street, then none of us is free,” he added.
Stephen Green will be supported by the Christian legal organization the Christian Legal Centre as he seeks justice in this case.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that more than 10,000 Christians took part in a march against abortion in London.
