According to legal advocates, British police have rejected the formal complaints of pro-life advocates that officers are keeping her under close scrutiny for quiet prayers outside the abortion clinic.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, West Midlands police cited a “live investigation” of Isabel Vaughnspruce as evidence of her rejection of her complaints. Vaughan-Spruce, co-director of the Pro-Life Organization UK March for Life, challenged two arrests for praying near the Birmingham abortion clinic, Kings Norton’s British Pregnancy Advisory Office (BPAS) Robert Clinic.
ADF International said her complaints were denied despite her not being formally informed of the investigation into her.
“West Midlands Police have confirmed that they are waiting for advice from CPS (Crown Prosecutor’s Service), taking into consideration the next steps regarding the allegations against Isabel,” ADF International said in a reporter’s statement on August 10. “The CPS previously determined that the act of standing quietly in prayer did not meet the thresholds of evidentiary and public interest to justify the prosecution.”
According to ADF International, West Midlands police have begun posting two police officers to watch her quietly pray. The group also said that officers regularly approached her and asked if she was praying.
“A quiet prayer cannot be a crime. Everyone has the right to freedom of thinking,” Vaughn Spruce said.
The investigation shows the third police action against her.
“It is incredible that I am still being harassed by the police for quiet praying in the area, despite it being fully proven after being mistakenly arrested in my opinion.
Her formal complaints accused her of repeatedly harassing and interrogating her, while police did not explain how she was violating the law. According to ADF International, the complaint also noted that her treatment was in conflict with previous clear verdicts from the court and CPS.
CPS previously determined that the act of standing quietly in prayer did not meet the thresholds of evidentiary and public interest to justify the prosecution, ADF International noted.
“This approach appeared to be formalised under new guidance that noted that conduct that was not ‘open’ would fall outside the scope of crime,” the legal group said. “This is considered to be the first test of CPS guidance under the controversial national “buffer zone” law. ”
In November 2022, three police officers arrested Vaughnspruce after quietly praying while standing near Kings Norton’s abortion facility. A YouTube video of the incident shows the police officer questioning her.
Police later granted £13,000 (US$16,858) compensation in August 2024 for her “unfair treatment and violations of her human rights,” according to ADF International.
Vaughan-Spruce filed a claim for “an allegedly arrested and false imprisonment of two people, assault and battery in connection with the intrusive search of her person, and violations of her human rights regarding both arrest and troublesome bail conditions.”
Authorities have enforced the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in areas near abortion facilities since September 2022. This prevented “an approval or disapproval or attempt or disapproval” in relation to abortion, including “oral or written means, prayer, and counseling.”
The Birmingham Magistrates Court later acquitted Vaughnspruce in February 2023 due to a lack of evidence that “intimidatingly protest, protest and engage service users.”
The following month, six police officers arrested her again outside the abortion clinic. One police officer reportedly said to her, “You said you were engaged in prayer. That’s the crime.”
Due to bail conditions, she banned visiting areas near the abortion clinic buffer zone. These charges were also removed later.
Regarding police’s refusal to the recent formal complaints, ADF International’s lawyer Jeremiah Igunnubole said police actions were still unreasonable.
“The ‘buffer zone’ is one of the most concerns of the frontiers of censorship in the modern western,” Igumble said. “We all oppose harassment and abuse, but the ‘buffer zone’ law is widely prohibited. This is interpreted by police officers as targeting innocent people who stand in a particular place and believe in certain things. ”
ADF International will continue to steadily challenge such unfair censorship, supporting Vaughan-Spruce’s right to think and believe freely, he added.
