A Catholic woman who was prosecuted for silently praying outside an abortion clinic has been acquitted.
In a video that went viral, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of anti-abortion group March for Life UK, was seen being searched and arrested by three police officers after saying that she ‘might be’ praying inside her head.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce was confronted by police when she was standing on the street outside the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, on December 6.
Her arrest sparked a fierce debate, with supporters saying she was effectively arrested for ‘thoughtcrime’, a term which her legal representatives ADF UK used.
Reacting to the not guilty verdict this morning, Vaughan-Spruce said in a statement outside court: ‘I’m glad I’ve been vindicated of any wrongdoing. But I should never have been arrested for my thoughts and treated like a criminal simply for silently praying on a public street.
‘When it comes to censorship zones, peaceful prayer and attempts to offer help to women in crisis pregnancies are now being described as either ‘criminal’ or ‘anti-social’.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce (pictured), was arrested for ‘praying’ outside an abortion clinic
Ms Vaughn-Spruce previously said: ‘It’s abhorrently wrong that I was searched, arrested, interrogated by police and charged simply for praying in the privacy of my own mind’
‘But what is profoundly anti-social are the steps now being taken to censor freedom of speech, freedom to offer help, freedom to pray and even freedom to think.
‘We must stand firm against this and ensure that these most fundamental freedoms are protected, and that all our laws reflect this.’
The 45-year-old was charged with four counts of violating the abortion clinic ‘buffer zone’ after she admitted that she might have been praying silently while standing outside.
She had been standing there some time, and was not carrying a sign, when an officer approached after a complaint from a member of the public.
But she has been acquitted of all charges in a ruling handed down by Birmingham Magistrates Court this morning.
The area surrounding the facility near where she prayed has been covered by a local Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), in force since November, which prohibits prayer, distributing information about pregnancy help services, and other activities considered to constitute ‘protest’.
ADF said in a release this morning: ‘The volunteer, who has supported women in crisis pregnancies for over twenty years, was charged with ‘protesting and engaging in an act that is intimidating to service users,’ despite the fact that the abortion facility was closed during the time in which she was present and praying, and despite her clear statement that she was not there to protest.’
ADF UK are a British branch of the American conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, who have campaigned and lobbied against the right to an abortion and against the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the States. They are part of the global organization, ADF International, headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
Ms Vaughn-Spruce, 45, was confronted by a police officer when she was standing on the street outside the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham
During the incident, a West Midlands Police officer told the campaigner that he had to caution her and then asked her: ‘What are you here for today?’
‘Physically, I’m just standing here,’ Ms Vaughan-Spruce, from Malvern, Worcestershire, replied.
‘Why here of all places? I know you don’t live nearby,’ the officer asked.
She responded: ‘But this is an abortion centre.’
The officer said: ‘Okay, that’s why you’re stood here. Are you here as part of a protest? Are you praying?’
She denied she was protesting but when asked if she was praying she said: ‘I might be praying in my head, but not out loud.’
The officer then arrested her on suspicion of failing to comply with a public spaces protection order – an arrest which sparked online debate.
‘Still surreal to observe a thought crime arrest in the West,’ data scientist Justin Co said on Twitter at the time.
‘Good Lord. The thought police are with us,’ tweeted Tobye Pierce.
But John Michael Leslie criticised Ms Vaughn-Spruce, accusing of her harassing women.
He wrote on Twitter after the incident happened: ‘No, you’re in violation of if you repeatedly harass women going to a family planning clinic who might be asking for abortion advice.
‘”Praying in her head” is the spin from her supporters.’
