An anti-abortion campaigner is being investigated after taking part in a silent prayer outside an abortion clinic.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Catholic pro-life advocate, has been arrested twice before by West Midlands Police for campaigning outside the Birmingham clinic.
She received a payout and apology on both occasions and earlier this year lodged a complaint against the police force.
The campaigner accused them of harassing her for standing too close to a clinic in and praying in silence.
But now she is being investigated for a third time, the Telegraph reports.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce was arrested in November 2022 for silently praying in a ‘buffer zone’ around an abortion clinic in the Kings Norton area of Birmingham.
In February 2023, the charity-worker was acquitted of all charges at Birmingham magistrates’ court when the prosecution was unable to offer evidence to support the charge.
But just weeks later the director of anti-abortion group March for Life UK was arrested for a second time and was told her silent prayer was an offence.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce (pictured), a pro-life advocate, has been arrested twice before by West Midlands Police for campaigning outside an abortion clinic but was acquitted and received an apology and a payout
Despite a new law against actions that could influence someone’s decision to use abortion services, Ms Vaughan-Spruce (pictured with Father Sean Gough) has continued to pray silently outside clinics every week
After a six-month investigation, the police dropped the charges and she received a payout of £13,000 and an apology.
Last year, a new law was introduced making it an offence for anyone within a ‘buffer zone’ to do anything that could influence someone’s decision to use abortion services.
They could not intentionally or recklessly obstruct, harass, alarm or distress anyone visiting or working at the clinics.
Despite the new law, Ms Vaughan-Spruce, who has won support from US politicians including vice president JD Vance, has continued to pray silently outside the Birmingham clinic every week.
She insisted her actions did not break the law and instead brought a formal complaint against the force.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce issued a claim 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 in 2022 and 2023.
Her complaint was rebuked by the police force’s Department for Professional Standards because she was the subject of a live investigation.
The force also said officers were liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), with an update expected next week.
A new law also banned anyone from not intentionally or recklessly obstructing, harassing, alarming or distressing anyone visiting or working at the clinics (protesters outside Birmingham Magistrates’ Court)
She told the publication: ‘Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it’s unbelievable that two and a half years later, 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 twenty years.
‘Silent prayer cannot possibly be a crime – everyone has the right to freedom of thought.’
The anti-abortion campaigner is being supported by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a charity committed to protecting freedom of expression that has campaigned against the buffer zones – areas around clinics cordoned off from anti-abortion campaigners.
They claim to expand Christian religious stance through faith-based legal advocacy.
The group claimed that the police were censoring Ms Vaughan-Spruce’s beliefs.
She has also met with lawyers from the US House Judiciary Committee to discuss restrictions being imposed on others silently pray outside clinics.
The Daily Mail has approached ADF International and West Midlands Police for comment.
