A 76-year-old British grandmother won a legal victory this month when police agreed that they should not have fined her for praying outside an abortion facility, her lawyers said.
Fox News reports Rosa Lalor, of Liverpool, England, was punished in February 2021 for praying outside an abortion facility in alleged violation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
On Monday, her lawyers said Merseyside Police recently agreed that arresting and fining her was wrong and Lalor was acting within her rights. The pro-life legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International represented her.
“I’m delighted that the prosecution has finally dropped this charge after a long and exhausting battle for justice,” Lalor said in a statement. “I took this challenge forward with support from ADF UK to show that we do all have a fundamental right to pray – not least pray as I did, in the privacy of my own mind.”
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According to the report, Lalor was praying near an abortion facility in February 2021 when officers approached her. When she told them she was praying, police told her that she did not have a “reasonable excuse” to be outside during the COVID-19 restrictions and argued that she was “protesting,” her lawyers said. They arrested Lalor and issued her a fine, the report continues.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, an ADF lawyer who represented Lalor, said his client never should have been punished in the first place.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate a victory for Rosa today, but it is deeply regrettable that this law-abiding woman was subjected to distressing, drawn-out criminal proceedings in the first place, no doubt due to her pro-life stance,” Igunnubole said. “This follows a worrying trend in law enforcement where individuals are routinely arrested simply because their views are considered to be controversial or offensive.”
According to the legal organization, Liverpool city leaders are considering an ordinance that would censor pro-life advocates like Lalor by banning them from prayer and peaceful outreach outside abortion facilities.
