The West Midlands Police (United Kingdom) has been sentenced to compensate Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the British woman arrested twice for praying silently in front of an abortion business, with 13,000 pounds (about 16,925 US dollars) for violating her rights, according to inform ADF Intenationalthe Christian legal organization charged with defending it.
The woman was arrested for the first time in December 2022 when she was standing, silently, near an abortion business in the city of Birmingham, within the “exclusion zone” provided by local authorities to prevent volunteers pro-life work helping women at risk of abortion.
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On that occasion she was arrested, searched and brought before a judge three months later. Ultimately, she was acquitted of all charges.
However, weeks later she was arrested again for praying silently in the same place. According to ADF International, “six police officers went to the scene and one of them confirmed that ‘you said you are praying, which is a crime.’”
Vaughan-Spruce, upon learning that she will be compensated, pointed out that “silent prayer is not a crime. “No one should be arrested simply for the thoughts in their head.”
In his opinion, “there is no place for Orwell’s ‘thought police’ in 21st century Britain.” However, he adds, “despite this victory, I am deeply concerned that this violation could be repeated at the hands of other police forces.”
Vaughan-Spruce believes that “our culture is shifting toward a repression of diverse viewpoints, and Christian thought and prayer are increasingly threatened by censorship.”
In this sense, he has denounced the upcoming entry into force of an exclusion zone law around abortion centers “whose language is inherently unclear and will likely lead to further violations of the freedom to pray, converse peacefully or offer help near abortion centers.”
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.