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<\/source><\/picture>British police have decided not to press charges against a pro-life activist for praying silently outside an abortion clinic nearly a year after her pro-life advocacy first subjected her to adverse legal consequences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a statement <\/a>published Friday, the law firm ADF UK reported that West Midlands Police in Birmingham, England, won’t be pressing charges against pro-life activist Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for engaging in silent prayer outside an abortion clinic and have issued an apology to her for arresting her on two separate occasions for praying. The police also vowed that \u201cthere will be no further investigation into the alleged matter, and there will be no further action taken.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Vaughan-Spruce reacted to the development by declaring, \u201cI welcome West Midlands Police\u2019s decision to end their investigation and their apology for the time it took to do so, but it\u2019s important to highlight the extremely harmful implications of this ordeal not just for myself, but for everyone concerned with fundamental freedoms in the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n She added, \u201cWhat happened to me signals to others that they, too, could face arrest, interrogation, investigation, and potential prosecution if caught exercising their basic freedom of thought.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow that authorities have twice settled on the conclusion that silent prayer is not a crime \u2014 a conclusion also reached by the Home Secretary last week \u2014 I am thankful to resume my practice of praying silently for women in crisis pregnancies,\u201d she added. Vaughan-Spruce\u2019s lawyer, ADF UK Legal Counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole, addressed his client\u2019s victory by stating, \u201cThe arduous process of this criminal ordeal has been the punishment for Isabel.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, Igunnubole cited Vaughan-Spruce\u2019s experience as evidence that \u201cfundamental freedoms are vulnerable in the U.K.\u201d Stressing an \u201curgent need for legal changes to stem the tide of policing by politics,\u201d he expressed hope that \u201cthe decision from West Midlands Police that they will not prosecute free thought, alongside the Home Secretary\u2019s public commitment to protecting silent prayer, will be reflected in legislation, guidance, and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n As both Vaughan-Spruce and Igunnubole indicated in their comments, U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman penned a letter<\/a> earlier this month asserting that \u201csilent prayer, within itself, is not unlawful\u201d and that \u201cholding lawful opinions \u2026 is not a criminal offense.\u201d<\/p>\n ????BREAKING: Isabel has been arrested, AGAIN, for THINKING.<\/p>\n MPs vote TOMORROW on banning silent prayer near all abortion facilities in????????????????????????????&????????????????????????????<\/p>\n “You’ve said you’re engaging in prayer, which is the offense.” \u2014 ADF UK (@ADF_UK) March 6, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Vaughan-Spruce was arrested on two separate occasions for silently praying outside the Robert Clinic in Birmingham, with police officers contending that her actions violated a Public Space Protection Order newly implemented by the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n The order<\/a> in question prohibits people from \u201cprotesting, namely engaging in any act of approval or disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means\u201d within a certain distance of an abortion clinic. Vaughan-Spruce was first arrested in December and video footage of her arrest shows a police officer asking her why she was standing outside the facility and if she was praying. \u201cI might be praying in my head, not out loud,\u201d she responded.<\/p>\n Police took Vaughan-Spruce into custody after she declined to go to the police station voluntarily. Two months after her first arrest, the charges<\/a> were dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n In March, Vaughan-Spruce was confronted by police again as she engaged in silent prayer outside the abortion clinic. Video footage<\/a> shows her defending her presence at the facility, as she insisted to the officers that \u201cI\u2019m not protesting, I\u2019m not engaging in any of the activities prohibited.\u201d After one of the officers told her, \u201cYou\u2019ve said you\u2019re engaging in prayer, which is an offense,\u201d Vaughan-Spruce replied that she was simply engaging in \u201csilent prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n The officer countered that it did not matter whether her prayer was silent or not: \u201cYou\u2019re still engaging in prayer. It\u2019s an offense.\u201d<\/p>\n More than six months later, Vaughan-Spruce has seen the charges against her dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, ADF UK reported that the police force \u201cinitially informed Vaughan-Spruce that the delay\u201d in her legal proceedings \u201cwas a result of the matter being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider charges.\u201d The CPS pushed back on this claim, assuring ADF UK that they hold \u201cno information\u201d about such a referral, adding, \u201cthe police should not submit a case to the CPS for charging advice when they have the power to make the charging decision themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n ADF UK noted that following her latest legal victory, \u201cVaughan-Spruce is considering options to pursue redress for her treatment at the hands of the police.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
“Silent prayer.”
“You were still engaging in prayer, which is the offense.” pic.twitter.com\/AId3OguiXz<\/a><\/p>\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n