JD Vance abortion buffer zone comments 'dangerous'

The American Vice-President JD Vance has been accused of "spreading misinformation" about buffer zones at abortion clinics in Scotland.

In a speech at the Munich Security Conference Vance claimed people who live within safe access zones had been sent letters by the Scottish government warning them about praying within their homes.

The Safe Access Zones Act came into force last September and prevents protestors gathering within 200m (656ft) of clinics that perform abortions.

A Scottish government spokesperson said no letters had been sent out saying people couldn't pray in their homes, and only "intentional or reckless behaviour" was covered by the act.

Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who drew up the law, said Vance's claims were "nonsense" and added that private prayer at home had never been impacted.

She said: "This is shocking and shameless misinformation from VP Vance, who is either very badly informed about what my Act has done or he is knowingly misrepresenting it.

"He is one of the most powerful people in the world but he is peddling total nonsense and dangerous scaremongering."

Letters sent out to people living within safe access zones stressed that residents should not do anything that could be seen or heard from the zone, such as displaying posters or banners, or protesting in their garden.

Mackay told BBC Scotland News: "Both the religious right and JD Vance would like to spread some of the misinformation about what is in those letters.

"There is no mention of silent prayer - it's about using your home to influence people going to seek an abortion."

She added she had a "real concern" that Vance's comments could cause the protests to start up again.

Mackay also confirmed she would speak to the Scottish government on Monday to "dispel" any misinformation.

Vance's speech criticised Europe for not protecting free speech enough, saying that it was "in retreat".

He cited the case of a man in Bournemouth who was convicted of breaching a safe zone after praying outside an abortion centre and refusing to move on.

The vice-president then added: "I wish I could say that this was a fluke, a one-off, crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person.

"But no. This last October, just a few months ago, 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 homes may amount to breaking the law."

Vance then claimed the government had urged people to report people "guilty of thought crime".

The Scottish government said Vance was "incorrect" with his comments, which were previously spread by Christian influencers on TikTok last year.

A spokesperson said: "Private prayer at home is not prohibited within safe access zones and no letter has ever suggested it was.

"Safe Access Zones are designed to safeguard a woman's right to access healthcare and protect their right to dignity and respect when they need it most.

"People continue to have the right to protest and to free speech, however, no one has the right to harass women, or to try to influence without consent their decision to access healthcare, or to impede their access to it in any way.

"The Act, passed overwhelmingly by Parliament, has been carefully drafted to capture only intentional or reckless behaviour close to a small number of premises providing abortion services. It does not – and has never been intended to – criminalise any particular action, including silent prayer."

Vance, who was a venture capitalist before turning to politics, converted to Catholicism in 2019.

In 2022 he called for a nationwide ban in America on abortion, suggesting that even in cases of rape or incest "two wrongs don't make a right".

Last year he altered his view and said it was a matter for individual states to decide upon.

He has previously been criticised for making claims without evidence, including repeatedly saying during the election campaign last year that migrants were eating pets in an Ohio town.

There are access zones at 30 health facilities around Scotland, including at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh and Dundee's Ninewells Hospital.

Within the buffer zones, it is a criminal offence to behave in ways that could influence the decisions of women and staff to access services.

The bill was brought in after a number of anti-abortion groups continually protested near abortion facilities, including American organisation 40 Days For Life.

When the US vice-president stepped up to speak at a Munich security conference dominated by the war in Ukraine, few foresaw that he would end up criticising Scottish legislation.

But with the Trump administration, we would do well to expect the unexpected at every turn.

This is the latest example of something we had a domestic row about a while ago being freshly discovered and given new salience by American figures.

There was debate about private prayer when the buffer zones bill was passing through Holyrood, and again when the letters went out last year.

At every turn, both the Green MSP behind the law and the government implementing it have been clear that claims of outlawing private prayer at home are baseless.

The law specifically targets behaviour, intentional or reckless, which aims to obstruct or discourage women from attending these clinics, or causes them fear or alarm.

The letters sent out never mentioned private prayer, but rather activities like those listed above which could be "seen or heard from within the zone".

The intention was to prevent people putting up posters in their windows, or hosting protests or vigils in front gardens overlooking clinics.

There is an inescapable practical point too. If you're praying unobtrusively in your house, how is anyone going to even know, far less call in the cops?

So it isn't the first time we've been around this debate in Scotland.

But JD Vance has obviously chosen this speech as his moment to make a point about freedom of speech and of religion, and to underline the values his government holds - which he feels aren't reciprocated in Europe.