Paul Gardner, a 27-year-old consultant and former Cambridge (UK) student, was arrested while peacefully protesting in Cambridge, England with banners showing third-trimester and aborted babies.
The arrest occurred on November 1, 2025, under Section 4A of the UK Public Order Act after a member of the public complained about the images.
Gardner was held for about six hours before being released with no further action, and a subsequent meeting with police confirmed that no offence had been committed. He said he was surprised by the arrest and stressed that his protest was lawful and intended to inform the public about MPs’ votes on abortion.
The incident comes amid the UK’s national “buffer zones” law, passed in October 2024, which restricts protests within 150 metres (~ 500 feet) of abortion clinics and hospitals. Previous UK court cases, including a 2016 High Court ruling in Sussex, have upheld the right to display images of aborted babies in public without penalty.
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