In Britain yesterday, the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court upheld the conviction of a Catholic grandmother who had been charged with violations of the Malicious Communications Act of 1988 for sending photos of an aborted fetus to three pharmacies that had begun to sell the "morning after" pill. One of the letters containing the photo was opened by a pharmacy employee whose relative had recently given birth to a still-born child. In Connolly v. Director of Public Prosecutions, [2007] EWHC 237 (Admin) (Feb. 15, 2007), the court found that the law's prohibition on sending an article that is indecent or grossly offensive in nature to someone else for the purpose of causing stress or anxiety had been violated.
It also held that applying the law in this way did not violate Art. 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights that protects the freedom to manifest one's religious beliefs "subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interest of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others." Christian Today reporting on the decision says that Mrs. Connolly has instructed her counsel to appeal the decision to the House of Lords. In comments to the press, she particularly reacted to a portion of the court's opinion that said: "A member of the Cabinet who spoke publicly in support of abortion and who received such photographs in his office in Westminster might well stand on a different footing..." Mrs. Connolly said: "on every moral issue which affects the public, it is everyone's democratic right to be able to obtain full information on which they can make an informed decision."
