British police accost woman for standing outside abortion facility
British police forced a pro-life woman to leave a public area because she was standing outside an abortion facility.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was mentally praying outside an abortion center in Birmingham when she was approached by a West Midlands police officer who demanded she leave the area. The policeman said that Vaughan-Spruce, who runs a pregnancy center, had been “identified” as being part of a pro-life organization and was therefore causing “distress” by her presence.
“Your mere presence here is causing people a certain amount of distress,” the officer said before banishing Vaughan-Spruce and prohibiting her from coming within 150 meters, or roughly 500 feet, of the facility. “And although I know you’re not saying anything, it is causing people these issues. They know who you are,” he added.
Abortion centers in the UK are fortified by 150-meter “buffer zones,” within which it is illegal to “intimidate”, “harass”, or “influence a person’s decision to access” the facility. Verbal praying, for example, is unlawful. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the nonprofit legal defense organization representing Vaughan-Spruce, said the law does not allow police to target specific individuals.
“Every person has a right to stand in a public space and think what they want,” Vaughan-Spruce said. “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.”
Arrested for offensive thoughts
Vaughan-Spruce was arrested twice before for mentally praying outside an abortion center.
“Are you standing here as part of a protest?” an officer asked her as she stood outside a facility in December 2022.
“No, I’m not protesting,” Vaughan-Spruce said.
“Are you praying?” the officer asked.
“I might be praying in my head,” she replied, at which point the officers publicly subjected her to a lengthy search and arrested her.
In 2023, the incident repeated itself. Police interrogated Vaughan-Spruce, asking her if she was part of a pro-life or “pro-choice” organization, if she was protesting, if she was there “to pray for the lives of unborn children,” and other questions. Vaughan-Spruce admitted to praying in her head, and when asked to leave the buffer zone, she politely refused and was arrested.
After a legal battle led by ADF, West Midlands Police apologized to Vaughan-Spruce and were forced to pay her £13,000 ($16,374) for violating her rights.
ADF has also represented Adam Smith-Connor, a British veteran who was arrested for silently praying in his mind near an abortion center.
Smith-Connor was quietly standing with his back to an abortion center in Bournemouth when he was approached by law enforcement officers who asked him what he was doing.
“Well, I’m praying,” Smith-Connor answered.
“Can I ask what is the nature of your prayer today?” the officer asked.
The 49-year-old responded that he was praying for his dead son, who was killed by an abortion Smith-Connor had arranged twenty years prior.
The officer said they had to follow orders, and issued Smith-Connor a £100 ($127) fine for “the prayer that you’ve admitted to.” Smith-Conner was also criminally charged with breaching a public spaces protection order.
