A major rally taking place in Belfast tomorrow will demand the reversal of draft laws which organisers say are designed to curtail the free speech rights of pro-life campaigners and public witnesses to faith.
Thousands are expected to attend the Rally for Life, Liberty and Faith in what organisers say will be a strong public stand for freedom of speech and religious liberty. Speakers from across the political divide will address the march which gathers at City Hall at 1.30 tomorrow, and rally organisers say it is a unifying event for everyone concerned with threats to life, liberty and faith.
“The rights of people of faith, and of pro-life groups, are increasingly under attack,” says one of the organisers Precious Life, the largest pro-life groups in Northern Ireland. They point to draft bye-laws passed by Belfast City Council in February which they say are specifically designed to target public pro-life information stalls – adding that they believe the proposals are in breach of the Good Friday Agreement.
“Since 2023, praying outside abortion centres has been a crime in Northern Ireland, but now these laws would ban truthful and accurate information about abortion,” Precious Life said. “Members of the City Council openly say that one of the purposes of the bye-laws is to prevent imagery being shared by pro-life groups, while preachers say they will be puzzled by the requirement which deals with amplification in the public square.”
“In February of this year, Belfast City Council have voted to approve draft bye laws that directly threaten freedom of speech, expression and peaceful Christian witness. These bye-laws introduce fines for public preaching and praying if the sound exceeds 70 decibels (the volume of a vacuum cleaner or a loud conversation), making normal preaching, praying, and even public speaking almost impossible in the city centre,” Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life said.
“The Council has also voted to ban the display of images used by pro-life groups including pictures on banners, posters, and even clothing such as t-shirts. Anyone who displays such images could face fines of up to £1,500. Pro-life information leaflets will also be censored, forced into sealed envelopes with ‘warning’ labels,” she added.
“These bye-laws threaten freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and religious liberty – rights protected by both the Human Rights Act and the Good Friday Agreement. They are not about public order. They are about controlling speech, suppressing the pro-life message, and silencing Christian witness in public spaces. If faith can be silenced in Belfast today, it can be silenced in Dublin, Derry or Cork tomorrow. That is why we must march tomorrow,” the pro-life spokeswoman said.
“We need to send a clear message and we need to demand that these bye-laws are scrapped because faith is not extremism, prayer is not disorder, truth is not hate, conscience is not a crime,” she said.
She pointed to the results of a public consultation held by Belfast City Council, saying that the authority had asked people for their opinion and then ignored the results.
The Council acknowledged that the majority of respondents supported the display of what the Council described as graphic imagery in regards to abortion – quoting support from respondents who said it is ‘important that Belfast is a space for inclusive views which allows everyone to express and share them freely and openly’, and that the pro-life information ‘offers a diverse range of information’ and ‘it helps people understand’,” she said.
“Yet the Council want to make our pro-life work unlawful and introduce huge fines – and they want to come down on people of faith involved in public preaching. These bye-laws, and the enormous threat to free speech, must be scrapped,” she said.
Sandra Parda of Life Institute who are supporting the Belfast Rally said that it was “absolutely essential” that the right to speak and protest freely in relation to abortion was protected and upheld in law.
“Such threats work to supress debate and to keep the truth about abortion concealed, and we’re seeing abortion numbers now spiralling ever higher,” she said. “There’s a very repressive attitude gaining ground in too much of public life, and we must stand together against these insidious threats to freedom of expression and free speech. We are a voice for unborn babies and their mothers: silencing that voice drives the reality of abortion into the darkness and we can’t let that happen,” she said.
Andrea Williams Chief Executive of Christian Concern, which defends religious freedom, will also speak at the Rally in Belfast tomorrow.
“This important event seeks to unite individuals and organisations across Ireland and the United Kingdom in a shared witness to the dignity of human life, the protection of civil freedoms, and the enduring role of faith in public life. At a time when these values face increasing challenges, we believe that a strong and visible collective presence is more vital than ever,” she said.
Other speakers at the Rally include Alderman Dean A. McCullough of the DUP who is a member of Belfast City Council and Aontú’s Gemma Brolly.
