Christian woman charged for thought crimes after investigation into silent prayers

A woman in the United Kingdom is in trouble with law enforcement yet again for daring to engage in silent prayers.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce learned in March that she had been under investigation by Midlands Police in the U.K. since January. She has now been criminally charged for praying in her head.

'You've said you're engaging in prayer, which is the offense.'

More specifically, Vaughan-Spruce was allegedly charged because she "stood outside" an abortion facility in Birmingham, England, to conduct her silent prayers and, therefore, tried to "influence" visitors, which is prohibited.

According to the Alliance Defending Freedom, the charge against Vaughan-Spruce is under Section 9 of the U.K.'s Public Order Act 2023, which outlines "Safe Access Zones" around abortion clinics in England and Wales.

Discretion under the act is left to each individual officer, but all decisions must be made "on a case-by-case basis and must be balanced and proportionate to the circumstances," the document says.

The law states it is an offense to recklessly or intentionally "do an act" that:

• Influences "any person's decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic";
• Obstructs or impedes any person "accessing, providing, or facilitating the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic"; or
• Causes "harassment, alarm, or distress to any person in connection with a decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic."
  

Violators are subject to a fine.

RELATED: 'Your arrest is necessary': Woman arrested for silent prayer, 'anti-social behavior' outside abortion clinic

Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

In 2022, Vaughan-Spruce made headlines for admitting to possibly engaging in silent prayer near an abortion clinic. She was asked by an officer to voluntarily go to a police station, and, upon declining, was informed that she was under arrest for failing to comply and would be charged with "anti-social behavior."

According to a city of Birmingham website, anti-social behavior "includes behavior which has caused or is likely to cause you harassment, alarm, or distress."

Vaughan-Spruce was later charged with "protesting and engaging in an act that is intimidating to service users" but was reportedly acquitted because the facility was actually closed at the time she was there.

She was arrested again in 2023 for praying in an excluded zone, this time on the corner of a road.

"You've said you're engaging in prayer, which is the offense," an officer told her.

Vaughan-Spruce claimed at the time that she assumed her acquittal meant she could now pray outside of the facility without causing offense.

RELATED: Real-life dystopia: Police arrest woman AGAIN after she silently prayed near abortion facility in UK

Similar charges were recently brought upon a retired pastor in Northern Ireland for preaching inside one of the protected zones.

According to the New York Post, the 76-year-old faces two charges and has pleaded not guilty to seeking to "influence" people accessing abortion services and for not immediately vacating the area when asked by police.

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