Pro-life campaign
Pro-life campaigners Andy Stephenson and Kathryn Sloane entered a ‘not guilty’ plea in January at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, after being arrested for a demonstration outside an abortion clinic in Brighton on 22 June 2011.
They are being prosecuted under Section 5 of the Public Order Act for holding signs showing the effects of abortion on the unborn and refusing to take them down.
They have been witnessing outside the publicly funded British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) abortion clinic in Brighton for the past four years, along with other protestors as part of the group Abort67.
A statement from Mr Stephenson said the not guilty plea was entered on the grounds that the banners are necessary to educate pregnant girls and women against the ‘misleading’ information given at the BPAS clinic.
According to Abort67, the day Andy Stephenson and Kathryn Sloane entered their plea, one woman attending BPAS changed her mind about a planned termination after discussions with the team.
This comes as students at University College London have officially declared their campus ‘pro-choice’. They voted to restrict the Catholic Society from hosting its own debates and speakers, insisting it invite pro-abortion speakers to pro-life discussions.