Police in England have declined a pro-life advocate’s formal complaint that officers are keeping her under close surveillance for praying silently outside an abortion clinic, according to a legal advocacy organization.
West Midlands Police cited a “live investigation” against Isabel Vaughan-Spruce as the basis for declining her complaint, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International. Co-director of pro-life organization UK March for Life, Vaughan-Spruce has twice successfully challenged previous arrests for praying near the abortion clinic in Birmingham, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Robert Clinic in Kings Norton.
Her complaint was declined despite her never being formally informed of the investigation against her, ADF International stated.
“West Midlands Police have now confirmed that they await advice from CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] considering next steps on the allegations against Isabel,” ADF International said in an Aug. 10 press statement. “CPS has previously decided that acts of standing silently in prayer do not meet its evidential and public interest thresholds to warrant prosecution.”
West Midlands Police have begun posting two police officers to watch her pray silently, according to ADF International. The group also stated that officers had approached her regularly and asked if she was praying.
“Silent prayer cannot possibly be a crime – everyone has the right to freedom of thought,” Vaughan-Spruce said.
The investigation marks the police’s third measure against her.
“Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it’s unbelievable that I am still being harassed by police for silently praying in that area, and yet again find myself under investigation for the same prayers I have said for 20 years,” she said.
Her formal complaint accused police of repeatedly harassing and interrogating her while failing to explain how she had been in breach of any law. The complaint also noted that her treatment was at odds with a previous clear verdict from the courts and CPS, according to ADF International.
CPS has previously decided that acts of standing silently in prayer do not meet its evidential and public interest thresholds to warrant prosecution, ADF International noted.
“This approach appeared to be formalized under new guidance which noted that conduct which was not ‘overt’ would fall outside the scope of criminality,” the legal group stated. “This is believed to be the first test of CPS guidance under the controversial national ‘buffer zone’ legislation.”
In November 2022, three police officers arrested Vaughan-Spruce after she prayed silently while standing near the abortion facility in Kings Norton. YouTube video of the incident shows a police officer questioning her.
Police subsequently gave her compensation of 13,000 pounds ($16,858 USD) in August 2024 for her “unjust treatment and the breach of her human rights” by officers, according to ADF International.
Vaughan-Spruce filed the claim against West Midlands Police for “two wrongful arrests and false imprisonments; assault and battery in relation to an intrusive search of her person; and for a breach of her human rights both in respect to the arrests and to the onerous bail conditions imposed on her,” according to ADF International.
Authorities had enforced a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) on the area near the abortion facility since September 2022. This prevented “any act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval” about abortion, including “verbal or written means, prayer or counseling.”
Birmingham Magistrates Court subsequently acquitted Vaughan-Spruce in February 2023 of the charge of “protesting and engaging in an act [prayer] that is intimidating to service users” due to lack of evidence.
The next month, six police officers arrested her again outside the abortion clinic. One of the officers reportedly said to her, “You’ve said you’re engaging in prayer, which is the offense.”
Bail conditions prohibited her from visiting areas near the abortion clinic buffer zones. These charges also were later dropped.
Regarding police declining her most recent formal complaint, Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, said the police actions continue to be unreasonable.
“‘Buffer zones’ are among the most concerning frontiers of censorship in the modern West,” Igunnubole said. “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.”
ADF International will continue to robustly challenge such unjust censorship and support Vaughan-Spruce’s right to think and believe freely, he added.
