Scottish Law Makes Home Prayer Criminal Near Clinics

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In a startling development, the architect of Scotland’s strict abortion clinic buffer zone legislation has conceded that individuals residing within these zones might be breaking the law by praying in their own homes, with the offense contingent on “who passes by the window.”

The admission came after U.S. Vice President JD Vance faced criticism from British media and politicians for suggesting at the Munich Security Conference that Scottish residents could face arrest for praying within their homes if located inside the 200-metre buffer zones around abortion facilities.

During an appearance on BBC Scotland’s Scotcast podcast, Green Party legislator Gillian Mackay, who initially dismissed Vance’s remarks as “nonsense” and “shocking and shameless misinformation,” acknowledged that home prayer could indeed violate the law.

Scotland’s buffer zone law just crossed into dystopian territory. If someone sees you praying in your own home near an abortion facility, you could be targeted. When governments criminalize silent prayer, freedom is dead. https://t.co/jGt8Zuimvx

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— 40 Days for Life (@40daysforlife) February 27, 2025

When questioned about whether visible prayer at a window within the exclusion zone would constitute an offense, Mackay responded: “That then depends on who’s passing the window.”

Despite this acknowledgment, Mackay continued to dispute Vance’s interpretation, stating: “I don’t know anyone who can pray loudly or performatively enough to be seen outside their own house… What JD Vance did was take it to the extreme. He clearly has an anti-abortion agenda and wants to spread that level of misinformation.”

The controversy intensified when, shortly after Vance’s Munich speech highlighting growing authoritarianism and free speech threats in Europe and the UK, authorities arrested a 74-year-old woman conducting a silent vigil outside an abortion clinic. She carried a sign reading: “Coercion is a crime. I’m here to talk, only if you want.” This marked the first arrest under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act, implemented in 2023.

Prior to these events, the Scottish government distributed letters warning residents that activities in private spaces within the zones could constitute offenses if visible or audible from within the protected area. The correspondence encouraged citizens to report suspected violations to law enforcement.

From @scotfamparty. First buffer zone arrest in Scotland Today, after a 74 year old woman was led away in handcuffs after breeching an abortion clinic buffer zone, which are pegged at 650 feet around the abortuaries. pic.twitter.com/Rmn1DTLniQ

— Protestia (@Protestia) February 20, 2025

Commenting on Mackay’s recent clarification, Lois McLatchie Miller from Alliance Defending Freedom International criticized the legislation’s implications. “JD Vance was right to raise concerns – this law is an illiberal travesty,” she said.

“Gillian Mackay confirmed that ‘performative’ prayer could be a crime, ‘depending on who is passing by the window.’ The accusation of prayer being ‘performative’ rather than genuine lies in the eye of the beholder. Who are the police to doubt the genuineness of somebody’s faith, based on where they are located, and the position of their hands?”

Miller concluded by stating: “Clearly, the ‘buffer zones’ law is fundamentally flawed when it comes to undermining basic freedoms of speech, thought, and religion.”