A woman from the United Kingdom who has been arrested several times for silently praying outside an abortion facility — and subsequently cleared of the charges — has discovered that she is being investigated again by the police.
Key Takeaways:
- Pro-lifer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is being investigated by police for silently praying outside a UK abortion facility.
- It is the third time police are investigating her for this “crime.” Previously, she was acquitted of all charges.
- Last year, Vaughan-Spruce was victorious after filing a claim against the same police for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
The Details:
A press release from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International confirms that Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is once again being investigated for silent prayer outside a Birmingham, UK abortion facility. The Public Spaces Protection Order in that area prohibits all pro-life activity, including silent prayer, within a wide buffer zone radius — reportedly 150m (or 492 feet) — of a facility that commits abortions.
Vaughan-Spruce discovered the investigation only after submitting a complaint against the West Midlands Police Department, which regularly posts two officers to watch her and interrogate her as she silently stands on a public street outside an abortion business. That complaint was denied, because officers informed her that there is a live investigation against her.
‘We are currently investigating allegations that a 48-year-old woman has interfered with access to or provision of abortion services between January and July this year, and are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service as enquiries continue,” a spokesperson from West Midlands Police confirmed to the Daily Mail.
The Backstory:
Vaughan-Spruce has been arrested repeatedly for “thoughtcrime” after standing within the expansive 150-meter buffer zones outside abortion facilities and silently praying. Her first arrest occurred in late 2022, as she was standing within the buffer zone for BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham. In 2023, she was arrested several more times, on the same charges. In each instance, she was acquitted or the charges were dropped.
As Live Action News reported, last year, she was awarded £13,000 (or almost $17,000) in a claim filed against the West Midlands Police Department — the same department currently investigating her — “for two wrongful arrests and false imprisonments, as well as assault and battery in relation to an intrusive search, and a breach of her human rights.”
The Bottom Line:
Vaughan-Spruce said she believes the authorities are harassing her.
“Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it’s unbelievable that two and a half years later, I am still being harassed by police for silently praying in that area, and yet again find myself under investigation for the same prayers I have said for twenty years,” she said. “Silent prayer cannot possibly be a crime – everyone has the right to freedom of thought.”
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, pledged his continued support in fighting for an end to the unjust censorship.
“We all stand against harassment and abuse, but the ‘buffer zone’ law broadly bans ‘influence’, which is being interpreted by police officers to target innocent people who happen to stand in a certain place and believe a certain thing,” he said.
“We will continue to robustly challenge this unjust censorship, and support Isabel’s right to think and believe freely.”
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