UK Police Target Pro-Lifer Again for Silently Praying: 'Automatically a Criminal'
New footage obtained by the nonprofit law firm Alliance Defending Freedom UK (ADF UK) shows an officer employed by a UK police officer demanding a charity volunteer to leave an abortion facility censorship zone or "buffer zone" for silently praying in her head.
The video footage shows a West Midlands police officer explaining that the "mere presence" of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a pro-life volunteer and co-director of March for Life UK, constitutes "harassment, alarm and distress" for simply standing alone, praying silently.
BREAKING: West Midlands Police have AGAIN targeted Isabel Vaughan-Spruce.
— ADF International (@ADFIntl) February 10, 2025
Changing tact from going after her prayers, they now claim her “mere presence” is “harassment”.
Nobody should be banned from a public area just because of their beliefs.
THIS is two-tier policing. pic.twitter.com/J7z5VVzh6P
"With you being the leader of an anti-abortion organization is causing people harm and distress. And though you are not saying anything, it is causing people these issues because they know who you are," the officer said.
The officer told Vaughan-Spruce she was violating the rules of the "buffer zone" – an area within 150 meters of an abortion facility – by standing near it.
"[The officer] believes that just because I hold pro-life beliefs, I am automatically a criminal in certain public areas. This isn't right," Vaughn-Spruce expressed.
She has sought legal help from ADF UK to ask the police for clarification on how a "person's mere presence" amounts to a criminal offense.
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This is not the first time Vaughan-Spruce has been confronted by police. As CBN News reported, the pro-life advocate was arrested twice for silently praying inside an abortion "buffer zone," but she was tried at Birmingham Magistrates Court in February 2023 and was found innocent.
"CPS Guidance from October 2024 stipulates that silent prayer is 'not necessarily' a crime in an abortion 'buffer zone'. The guidance further states that any actions must be 'overt' to meet the threshold of criminality," ADF UK explained.
Last time, the West Midlands Police apologized and paid £13,000 for breaching Vaughan-Spruce's human rights.
"It has been made clear time and time again through the verdict of Birmingham Magistrates' Court, through the concession and payout from the police, through the words of the former Home Secretary, and through CPS Guidance – you cannot break the law by simply existing in a buffer zone, holding thoughts and beliefs in your mind," said Vaughan-Spruce.
She continued, "Every person has a right to stand in a public space and think what they want. The police officer told me that my 'mere presence' was offensive – that's nothing short of viewpoint discrimination. He believes that just because I hold pro-life beliefs, I am automatically a criminal in certain public areas. This isn't right."
The legal defense group says the West Midlands police authorities are now "changing" their tactic from "going after her prayers" to now claiming "her 'mere presence' is 'harassment'."
"Nobody should be criminalised for publicly holding lawful views or associating with any lawful cause. The idea that the state can interrogate citizens and instruct them to leave certain public areas based on their pro-life beliefs and associations is profoundly chilling and concrete evidence, if ever we needed more, of viewpoint-based two-tier policing," said ADF UK legal counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole.
"If Isabel can be treated this way then what does this mean for all Christians holding to biblical truths? This isn't 1984; it's 2025 – police must respect the fundamental rights of freedom of speech, thought, and association," he added.
