(NewsGlobal.com)- According to a news release by the Coalition Defending Freedom UK, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested only weeks after being found not guilty of violating a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that maintains a censorship zone surrounding the abortion clinic.
The pro-life campaigner in Birmingham, England, was detained for the second time for the “offense” of praying quietly in her thoughts inside a so-called “buffer zone” near an abortion clinic.
To prevent people from expressing their opinions on abortion by “verbal or written methods,” such as “prayer or counseling,” the city of Birmingham enforced a buffer zone surrounding abortion facilities. Her bail terms forbid her from accessing that “buffer zone” around the abortion clinic.
Vaughn-Spruce informed police that she was not participating in any illegal activity the second time she was ordered to leave the exclusion zone.
“Yet you admitted to the police that you were praying,” the officer continued.
‘Silent prayer,’ she said in return.
Well, but you were still praying, he said.
She went on to say that the vagueness of rules that restrict free speech and ideas leads to abysmal uncertainty, to the loss of vital fundamental rights even in situations where mutual agreement exists, such as in a friendly chat or a private moment of prayer.
“No one should be punished in prison for what they believe,” she said.
“Three weeks ago, the court made it plain that my quiet prayers were not a crime,” Vaughn-Spruce stated. She’s been detained and treated like a criminal time and time again for thinking the same thing in the same place, she said.
According to a news release from the ADF UK, on Tuesday, the House of Commons in the UK Parliament voted 116-299 to outlaw any type of “influence” near abortion clinics throughout England and Wales. Parliament member Andrew Lewer attempted to amend the rule to provide an exception for quiet prayer and consensual talks, but his amendment was not accepted.
Lewer reportedly stated, “Police shouldn’t be asking ‘What are you thinking about?!'” to ADF UK.
Is it 2023 or 1984?
