UK Christian Woman Charged Again For Silently Praying

The United Kingdom’s thought cops have struck again, charging a Christian woman for silently praying outside abortion clinic. 

Charitable volunteer Isabel Vaughn-Spruce has been under investigation since January for the “influence” she supposedly exhibited in her silent vigil for life. 

Vaughn-Spruce and the speech police have been down this road twice before, with the 48-year-old Malvern woman ultimately being cleared of charges for the crime of praying in a public space. Vaughn-Spruce won a $17,000 judgment from the West Midlands police department for wrongful arrest. 

But the latest charges are being brought under the UK’s new “buffer zones” law that went into effect last year as part of the Public Order Act 2023. The Attorney General Richard Hermer confirmed this week that “The Crown Prosecution Service has issued proceedings under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, in relation to one case, since it was commenced on” Oct. 31, 2024, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International. 

Previously, Vaughn-Spruce was charged under buffer zone ordinances enforced by local law enforcement through the Public Spaces Protection Orders, ADF International, a Christian litigation and advocacy organization, noted in a press release. The new national law prohibits “influencing any person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate abortion services” within 150 [meters] of abortion clinics, although the draconian law does not specifically mention silent prayer.  

What does that mean for silent prayer? That question, it appears, is about to be decided again by a British court. 

West Midlands police officials in March informed Vaughan-Spruce in March that they were investigating her for her “crime” allegedly committed on Jan. 27, as well as other subsequent occasions, according to ADF, which is supporting the Catholic pro-lifer’s legal defense.  

Photo: ADF International

‘Arrested for My Thoughts’

Vaughan-Spruce has been peacefully praying in the same public area on a regular basis for two decades. ADF International said it has sent “numerous requests” for clarification on the broad law targeting thoughtcrimes. The organization argues that the law wasn’t written to be a ban on someone’s presence or her belief that life is precious and murdering the unborn is immoral. 

Vaughan-Spruce, however, never voiced her beliefs. She silently prayed. She did so when the facility was closed, according to ADF International. But the Public Spaces Protection Order banned “expressions of approval or disapproval” of abortion. Despite winning her previous court cases, she continued to be harassed by officers who asked whether she was praying. 

“Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it’s unbelievable that I have yet again been charged for standing in that public area, and holding pro-life beliefs,” Vaughan-Spruce said. 

Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, said “buffer zones” are among the most concerning frontiers of censorship in the modern West.

“We all stand against harassment and abuse, but the ‘buffer zone’ law broadly bans ‘influence’ which is being interpreted by police officers to target innocent people who happen to stand in a certain place and believe a certain thing,” the attorney asserts in the press release. “We will continue to robustly challenge this unjust censorship, and support Isabel’s right to think and believe freely as is the right of every person in the UK.”  

‘Egregious Violation’

Others have been hassled, arrested, charged, and, in some cases, convicted of the offense of silently praying or having consensual conversations in the “buffer zones.” England, Wales, and Scotland have similar “influence” laws on the books in the censorship kingdom. ADF International said the fines for the thoughtcrimes are “unlimited.” 

The Trump administration in August accused the UK government of committing an “egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty.”

In an official statement to the Telegraph, the State Department said the U.S. was monitoring several “buffer zone” cases in the United Kingdom and other acts of censorship throughout Europe. 

“The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations,” the State Department said. 

Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.