Mother convicted for praying outside abortion centre
A woman who has been criminalised for praying outside an abortion centre says she will challenge the court’s ruling.
Mother of four children, Claire Brennan, was dragged before a court and placed on trial on 3rd December 2024, where she bravely pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. However, a hefty £750 fine was imposed on her by Coleraine Magistrates’ Court.
Claire became the first person to be arrested under “abortion buffer zone” laws back in October 2023. These draconian laws were passed by the SDLP, Sinn Fein, UUP, Green Party, and PBP, to criminalise women and men who pray within 250 metres of an abortion centre, and punish them with extortionate fines.
Claire was arrested while praying on her knees outside the baby-killing centre at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. This hospital is part of the Northern Health Trust. Since abortion was legalised in March 2020, the official number of babies killed there is 1,947. More than 8,490 babies have been killed across Northern Ireland.
On the day of her arrest, Claire had rosary beads in her hands and was holding a sign which read: ‘Pray to End Abortion. A police officer accused her of causing “harassment, alarm and distress.” In response, she respectfully told the police officer, “…you have a duty to uphold the law, and I have a duty to uphold God’s law …We are not committing any offences …This is where we pray …The law of the land stops me from upholding the law of God. We pray for the babies who will be imminently killed in this hospital.”
During her trial, Claire courageously stood up before the court and told the judge that she had a right to pray.
“I am a Christian and a pro-life activist so my moral duty is to stand in the gap for the least of these little ones,” she told the court after holding her Bible aloft and taking an oath.
She quoted the Book of Proverbs, stating: “It is my duty to rescue those being led to death, to hold back those staggering toward slaughter.”
“These children are being blotted out. God had a plan for these children and it is my duty to stand in the gap and protect these children. So yes I was there. I was doing my duty just like a policeman or fireman who protects life.”
However the judge ignored her pleas of innocence and her defence of the unborn, and convicted her.
Claire now intends to lodge an appeal.
“If the appeal doesn’t go through then I will be bound by the court to pay the fine. I will not pay the fine and I will be sent to prison,” she said.
Claire thanked people for the prayer and support she has received from all across Ireland and beyond. “Thank you, and the battle will continue until I get victory” she said.
Precious Life stand in solidarity with Claire, and all individuals who are fighting for the right to express their beliefs and defend the unborn. Prayer should never be criminalised. This is a direct attack on the freedom to think, pray, and peacefully express one's beliefs in public spaces. The draconian 'buffer zones laws' in Northern Ireland must be scrapped NOW !!!