We covered the story of Isabel Vaughn-Spruce, the Englishwoman who, in November, 2022, was arrested on suspicion of silently praying near an abortion clinic. For this alleged thought-crime, or “wrong-think,” Vaughan-Spruce was arrested, searched thoroughly, criminally charged, and tried. Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom UK, she was acquitted due to the prosecution’s inability to present any evidence.
Only weeks later, Vaughan-Spruce was arrested again for “silently thinking prayerful thoughts on a public street” near another baby-killing mill. This time six police officers showed up, and one told her bluntly that “you’ve said you’re engaging in prayer, which is the offence.”
After this astonishing official abuse, Vaughan-Spruce filed a claim against the West Midlands Police, and was recently awarded £13,000 (about $17,000 US).
The UK is getting ready to implement the Public Order Act, which will ban all forms of so-called ‘influencing’ within 150 meters of every abortion mill in the UK. It is not clear whether this will including silent praryer. The Tory government issued this statement:
“Silent prayer, being the engagement of the mind and thought in prayer towards God, is protected as an absolute right under the Human Rights Act 1998 and should not, on its own, be considered to be an offence under any circumstances.”
Since then, however, the Tories have been replaced by Keir Starmer’s Labor party, which is further to the left than the Tories, and it is not clear whether they also will respect freedom of thought and freedom of religion.
“It is incredible that people have been arrested for thoughtcrime in modern Britain,” said senior Conservative peer and former cabinet minister Lord Frost.
“I am very glad Ms. Vaughan-Spruce has received compensation for her unjust arrest for this so-called offence. But if a recent report is correct that the Government is considering formally criminalising silent prayer outside abortion centres, then there will be further such cases, and then not just freedom of speech but freedom of thought will be under threat. It is hard to imagine a more absurd and dangerous situation.”
This interview of Vaughn-Spruce, conducted by the European Conservative, is well worth reading. Highlights:
What drew you to pray outside an abortion center?
I think I was initially motivated by the injustice towards the pre-born child. I felt it was a huge insult to God for a nation to legally dispose of children like rubbish. The abortion center I went to pray outside was the first center to open in the country and was performing 10,000 abortions a year. I recognized that each one of these babies had immense value and was an unrepeatable work of art by a divine creator who does not make mistakes.
As I prayed outside this center, I encountered women in various difficult situations who weren’t ultimately being helped by abortion; they were just having one problem swapped for a far deeper one. I could see them coming out of the [clinic] with empty looks on their faces, being sick in the gutter, or sobbing into their phones. The damage I saw abortion inflicting on these women became a new motivation, as I knew they deserved better.