Get a free copy of Parental Rights & Education when you subscribe to our newsletter!
The arrest, prosecution, and punishment of Dr. Livia Tossici-Bolt for the simple act of holding a sign that offers voluntary conversation near an abortion clinic confirms a shocking new reality: The U.K. is no longer a free country.
On Friday U.K. District Judge Orla Austin convicted Dr. Livia Tossici-Bolt of violating the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) after she held a sign near an abortion clinic which read: “Here to talk, if you want.”
“U.S.-UK relations share a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, as Vice President Vance has said, we are concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom,” the Bureau stated in a post on X. “We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression.”
Tossici-Bolt, 64, a retired medical scientist, was first arrested by the police in March 2023 outside a Dorset abortion clinic for holding her sign and later punished with a fine. She refused to pay the fine, saying that consensual conversations are protected by Article 10 of the Human Rights Act and her actions did not violate the PSPO.
The PSPO criminalizes “harassment,” “intimidation,” or “engaging in an act of approval or disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services” within 150 meters of an abortion clinic.
Tossici-Bolt and her legal counsel Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International argue that her sign did not reference abortion and no harassment or intimidation took place.
The long-time pro-lifer was motivated to hold the sign when she saw trends of people offering “free hugs” and other interactions.
ADF International explained that Tossici-Bolt’s sign is a genuine invitation for meaningful conversation, explaining,
“She has had countless positive interactions with various groups of people who have stopped to talk with her about issues that are important to them, including students who spoke to her about their studies and parents who spoke about their children.
Livia believes that every life matters. She is happy to talk to anyone in a difficult situation, including those facing an abortion. And that is exactly what she did with a sign that read six words, ‘Here to talk if you want’. Many willingly approached Livia to talk to her.”
Despite there being no evidence that Tossici-Bolt harassed anyone or expressed any disapproval, Austin found her guilty of violating the PSPO and ordered her to pay a fine of £20,000 ($25,780) by May 31.
In explaining her decision, Austin said, “I accept that the defendant engaged in the conduct underlying this case as part of a sincerely motivated desire to attend that location and display her signage outside the clinic, encouraging conversation in relation to matters of particular importance to her. This does not mean that her conviction for failing to leave the area when required would be disproportionate, nor give rise to a reasonable excuse on the facts of this case.”
She argued that Tossici-Bolt “lacks insight that her presence could have a detrimental effect on the women attending the clinic, their associates, staff and members of the public.”
Austin is also the judge who convicted U.K. Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor last October of violating the PSPO for bowing his head and praying silently near an abortion clinic.
Tossici-Bolt responded to the conviction by saying,
“This is a dark day for Great Britain. I was not protesting and did not harass or obstruct anyone. All I did was offer consensual conversation in a public place, as is my basic right, and yet the court found me guilty.”
She expressed gratitude for the U.S. State Department’s involvement, explaining that “Freedom of expression is in a state of crisis in the UK. What has happened to this country? The US State Department was right to be concerned by this case as it has serious implications for the entire Western world.”
Following the ruling, the DRL posted, “We are disappointed with the UK court’s conviction of Livia Tossici-Bolt for violating a designated ‘buffer zone’ at an abortion clinic. Freedom of expression must be protected for all.”
While some have called the State Department’s attention extreme or even interference, ADF International legal counsel Lorcan Price argued that it is common for the U.S. to monitor cases of human rights violations, except that those violations don’t usually involve Western allies.
“We are used to seeing this kind of diplomacy happen with countries that have authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. It is sobering to realize the censorship crisis in the UK has become so extreme that it is now necessary here too,” Price stated.
“Livia’s criminal prosecution for merely offering consensual conversation highlights in a particular way that free speech is now becoming a major point of contention between the US and UK. If the UK continues to abandon free speech, it’s now clear there will be no ‘special relationship’. We are grateful to the US for engaging in diplomacy to promote the fundamental right of freedom of expression in this country.”
The conviction follows Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year in which he admonished European leaders to respect free speech, particularly zeroing in on the U.K.’s “buffer zones” and criminalization of silent prayer and protest.
Vance highlighted the U.K.’s conviction of Smith-Connor, who was arrested after he stood 50 meters from an abortion clinic, turned facing the other way, and silently prayed in his head for a few minutes.
The vice president cautioned that if the United States and Europe are going to function as allies, they must have shared values, namely free speech.
The PSPO is a violation of free speech and religious freedom and, if the U.K. was serious about ensuring free expression, its leaders would repeal the law immediately. No government of a free country should tell its citizens that they can’t “express disapproval” or silently pray in a public area.
But let’s be clear: What Tossici-Bolt did was not a violation of the PSPO. The PSPO says nothing about holding a sign offering to talk if a woman wants to near an abortion clinic.
There is nothing detrimental to women about offering an opportunity for a conversation.
It’s only detrimental to those who don’t want women to understand that they have options other than abortion or that people truly care about their situation and want to give them hope.
And yet she was convicted and punished anyway.
It seems inconceivable that the U.S. State Department would need to monitor the U.K. for human rights violations. After all, isn’t this the land of the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights of 1689? Isn’t this the progenitor of what would become America’s Constitution? Surely Trump and Vance are pushing our allies too hard. There must be more to the story than this.
Sadly, there is not.
As Price noted, intervention from the State Department is reserved for authoritarian and dictatorial regimes, and that is what the U.K. has become. It is a nation that now jails people for dissent or “harsh words,” arrests and punishes citizens for silent prayer and holding signs, and turns a blind eye to the killings and rapes of British children because the perpetrators are of a certain race or religion.
The U.K. does not share our values, and instead of feeling chastened, its leaders are now doubling down on that reality.
On Friday, the Times reported that more than 30 British citizens are being arrested every week for sending online messages “that cause “annoyance,” “inconvenience” or “anxiety” to others,” an increase of 58 percent since 2019. It was also reported last week that Lucy Connelly, a young English mother imprisoned for two years for a reactive social media post about mass migration that she sent, and quickly deleted, in the immediate aftermath of the fatal stabbing attack on young British girls attending a dance class, has been officially denied temporary release to visit with her ailing husband and 12-year-old daughter, despite being eligible since November.
If the U.K. does not want to be monitored and called out like any other tyrannical regime, then perhaps it should stop acting like one.
And if it doesn’t, the U.S. should continue to treat it accordingly.
If you like this article and other content that helps you apply a biblical worldview to today’s politics and culture, consider making a donation here.
Notifications
