Stephen Green, a Christian pro-life activist who has been ordered to pay more than £2,400 ($3,270 U.S.) for displaying a Bible verse outside an abortion facility in West London, is working on appealing the decision and intends to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights, if needed.
Green was arrested in 2023 for standing outside an abortion facility while holding a sign that read “Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb,” according to Christianity Today. In 2024, he was convicted by Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, a local court, of having breached the legal “buffer zone” around the abortion facility.
“As a Christian I should be able to preach freely all over the land,” Green said last week, according to Christianity Today. “Psalm 139 is about how we all belong to God from conception. Buffer zones and this conviction is a direct attack on the Bible and free speech, which is being licensed by the state. I have no choice but to continue to defend myself and fight for justice.”
Green was ordered to pay a fine of £2,400 as well as a £26 “victim surcharge.” According to Christianity Today, he has said that he will not pay the fine or surcharge as a matter of principle.
According to Christianity Today, Kathryn Verghis, the district judge in the 2024 case, ruled: “The extract of the Psalm mentioning ‘my mother’s womb’ … was an act of protest of abortion. There were less controversial verses you could have chosen to display. I can come to no other conclusion that [the verse] was an act of disapproval [of abortion services] ... an act prohibited [by the buffer law].”
The judge said that the buffer zone law posed “a significant interference” with Green’s rights to freedom of religion and expression, but that these rights are outweighed by the right to an abortion, according to Christianity Today.
On Feb. 12, the High Court denied Green permission for a judicial review, which could have ruled the 2024 decision unlawful.
Green says he believes buffer zones that restrict speech around abortion facilities are discriminatory.
“People are right to be concerned about the buffer zone legislation,” Green said before the Feb. 12 hearing, according to Christianity Today. “To bar Christian witness and to control what people can say is deeply draconian and discriminatory against Christians. If it is now a criminal offence to hold a sign with a verse from Psalm 139 on it in a London street, then none of us is free.”
The Christian Legal Centre, a legal advocacy organization, is assisting Green in his court battle. According to Christian Concern, as of Feb. 13 Green and the Centre intend to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if they are unable to find justice from U.K. courts.