British authorities have filed new criminal charges against a pro-life activist who was previously arrested twice for praying quietly outside an abortion clinic.
Legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International said Isabelle Vaughn-Spruce was paid by police for wrongful arrest.
West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have laid criminal charges against Vaughan Spruce for standing outside an abortion facility where “influence” is prohibited. She is scheduled to appear in court on January 29th.
This is the first charge under the new national “buffer zone”, which came into force in October 2024 under section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023. The national law prohibits “influencing a person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate abortion services” within 150 meters of an abortion facility, but does not specifically mention moments of silence. CPS guidance states that a silent prayer alone does not meet the criteria for an offence, unless it is accompanied by “overt” activity.
“It’s unbelievable to be wrongfully arrested for my beliefs, to be completely vindicated time and time again, and then to stand in that public place and be accused again for holding pro-life beliefs,” Vaughn Spruce said in a press statement from ADF International. “Praying silence or having pro-life beliefs should not be a crime. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought.”
ADF International said Ms Vaughnspruse had not yet received information about the criminal charges at the time the government issued its written response to the issue, but learned of the charges hours later in a letter from West Midlands Police.
She has been under investigation since January for holding a moment of silence on a public road near an abortion facility in Birmingham.
“The Crown Prosecution Service has commenced proceedings under section 9 of the Security Act 2023 in relation to one incident since its commencement on 31 October 2024,” said Attorney-General Ellie Reeves, on behalf of Attorney-General Richard Harmer. On December 16, she gave a written response to a parliamentary question from former Home Secretary Suella Braverman MP about the Vaughan Spruce scandal.
ADF International said previous court cases regarding the moment of silence were based on local public space protection orders, rather than the new law.
West Midlands Police advised on March 18 that Vaughan Spruce was being investigated for praying quietly near the facility on January 27. She had been praying quietly in the same public area regularly for 20 years.
With legal assistance from ADF International, she sent numerous requests for clarification on the circumstances of her case over the next several months, pointing out that the law does not prohibit her mere existence or holding pro-life Christian beliefs.
Jeremiah Ignubor, general counsel at ADF International, said the “buffer zone” is one of the most concerning censorship fronts in modern Western countries.
“While we all oppose harassment and abuse, ‘buffer zone’ laws broadly prohibit ‘influence’ as interpreted by police officers to target innocent people who happen to be standing in a certain place and believe a certain thing,” Igunnubore said. “We will continue to firmly challenge this unfair censorship and support Isabelle’s right to think and believe freely, as well as the rights of everyone in the UK.”
As co-chair of the pro-life group UK March for Life, Ms Vaughan-Spruce has twice successfully challenged previous arrests for praying near the British Pregnancy Advice Service (BPAS) Robert Clinic in Kings Norton.
In November 2022, three police officers arrested her while she was praying quietly near the facility. Police subsequently awarded her £13,000 in compensation in August 2024 for her “unfair treatment and human rights violations”.
Ms Vaughan Spruce has filed a complaint against West Midlands Police, charging her with two counts of false arrest and false imprisonment, assault and battery in connection with an invasive search, and human rights abuses.
Authorities had implemented a local order in the area since September 2022 that prohibited “any act of approval or disapproval” related to abortion, including “prayer or counseling.”
In February 2023, Birmingham Magistrates’ Court found Mr Vaughan-Spruce not guilty of “protesting and engaging in acts of intimidation (praying) to service users” due to lack of evidence. The next month, six police officers arrested her again outside the clinic.
“You said you were praying, which is a violation,” one officer told her at the time.
Authorities later dropped those charges as well.
