US VICE president JD Vance’s claims that Scots who pray in their homes inside buffer zones around abortion clinics could be prosecuted are “unbelievable” and a complete misrepresentation of the facts, campaigners have said.
In a speech in Munich, Vance argued that Europe was shifting away from democratic values and claimed the “basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular” are under threat, as he used the Scottish Government’s law as an example.
The Scottish Parliament passed legislation last year to create a buffer zone around abortion service providers so that anti-abortion protests cannot come within 200 meters of them.
The landmark law does not prohibit anyone from praying within their own homes, despite Vance’s claims.
Lucy Grieve, co-founder of Back Off Scotland who launched the campaign to introduce no-protest zones outside of healthcare clinics, had previously warned Scottish politicians that following Donald Trump’s election win in November America would likely seek to influence Scotland’s abortion laws.
Grieve (left) said that Vance’s comments on Friday were frankly “terrifying” and that they usher in a “scary new era” for women's rights around the world.
“JD Vance’s comments today are unbelievable,” she said.
“We've previously said that attacks from Donald Trump and his team on reproductive rights would happen ...but I don't think we ever thought it would come this early.
“Frankly it's terrifying, and it completely misrepresents the facts of the Scottish buffer zone law and what it was designed to do. It also interferes with the law which was democratically passed in our parliament by a very large majority.
“His comments today usher in a scary new era of the US trying to influence the roll-back of hard won abortion rights around the world.”
Back Off Scotland have also posted a thread online debunking the vice president's claim as they told followers they did not anticipate the groups “hard-won buffer zone law would be misrepresented in this way”.
Vance had previously said he was open to a national abortion ban as he argued in 2022 that people seeking abortions would travel from states where abortion is banned to states with liberal abortion laws.
The vice-president's claims have been repeatedly posted by some social media accounts across Twitter/X in recent months.
At the Security Conference in Germany, Vance (below) said: “This last October, the Scottish Government began distributing letters to citizens whose houses lay within so-called 'safe access zones', warning them that even private prayer, within their own home may amount to breaking the law.
“Naturally, the Government urged readers to report any fellow citizens suspected guilty of thought crime. In Britain, and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”
Donald Trump’s second-in-command also criticised the UK Government over a legal case in which a man who claimed to have “silently prayed” outside a British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) clinic was convicted of breaching an anti-abortion protest safe zone.
Vance referred to the conviction of Adam Smith-Connor who was found guilty last year of failing to comply with a public space protection order at the centre in Bournemouth in November 2022.
The 51-year-old told the council of his intention to breach the anti-protest zone at the Bpas clinic ahead of time and refused to leave despite being spoken to by the police for almost two hours, the BBC reported.
Vance’s comments at the summit have been branded “shocking and shameless misinformation” by Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay (below) who championed the bill which brought buffer zones into effect.
Mackay said: “The government that Mr Vance represents is a clear threat to reproductive rights. He has a shocking record on abortion and many other issues. He has supported calls to reduce access to healthcare and has even argued for a national ban on abortion rights across the US.
“Abortion rights are human rights and they are healthcare. Today and every day I will stand with the millions of people across the US who oppose the misogynistic and anti-choice agenda of Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
