Newsmakers

Alarming: Woman Arrested For Silently Praying Reveals Another Shocking Police Threat

A UK woman who has faced at least three run-ins with law enforcement — including two arrests — for silently praying outside abortion clinics said her now-viral legal battles have been "stressful" but that she's not backing down from defending her rights. Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a pro-life volunteer and co-director of March for Life UK, has made international headlines as her plight has dragged on over the past year. "On one level, it has been quite stressful in as much as it almost makes you feel quite vulnerable that the people who should be protecting your freedoms are the ones who seem [to be] attempting to deprive you of them," she said. But Vaughan-Spruce, who just last month was reportedly threatened by police with a fine for praying outside a clinic after previously being cleared of past arrests and charges, said she's also been heartened to see the support she's received. "The amount of support I've received from people who have told me that they actually support abortion, but they still support my right and other people's right to be able to pray where they want to pray — people who say that they don't have any religious beliefs, but they still recognize that people's own private thoughts, whether they're directed towards their God or not, are their own business," she said. Vaughan-Spruce continued, "And that's really encouraging to see that people can recognize what's going on here." She recounted her most recent interaction with police — one that came after she was acquitted again. Once more, she said she was simply silently praying and wasn't holding any posters or leaflets. In fact, she wasn't even engaging another human in any way. "The police came and told me that they were going to issue me with a fixed penalty notice if I didn't move outside the zone," Vaughan-Spruce said. "I told them that I didn't believe I needed to because all I was doing was silently praying, and so they gave me ... the ticket." That ticket, too, was reportedly dropped, though she said the entire ordeal is "quite intimidating," with mixed messages dominating her interactions. __

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Broadcast on:: 12 Feb 2024

"On one level, it has been quite stressful in as much as it almost makes you feel quite vulnerable that the people who should be protecting your freedoms are the ones who seem [to be] attempting to deprive you of them," she said.

But Vaughan-Spruce, who just last month was reportedly threatened by police with a fine for praying outside a clinic after previously being cleared of past arrests and charges, said she's also been heartened to see the support she's received.

"The amount of support I've received from people who have told me that they actually support abortion, but they still support my right and other people's right to be able to pray where they want to pray — people who say that they don't have any religious beliefs, but they still recognize that people's own private thoughts, whether they're directed towards their God or not, are their own business," she said. Vaughan-Spruce continued, "And that's really encouraging to see that people can recognize what's going on here."

She recounted her most recent interaction with police — one that came after she was acquitted again. Once more, she said she was simply silently praying and wasn't holding any posters or leaflets. In fact, she wasn't even engaging another human in any way. "The police came and told me that they were going to issue me with a fixed penalty notice if I didn't move outside the zone," Vaughan-Spruce said. "I told them that I didn't believe I needed to because all I was doing was silently praying, and so they gave me ... the ticket."

That ticket, too, was reportedly dropped, though she said the entire ordeal is "quite intimidating," with mixed messages dominating her interactions.