Woman Charged Over Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Claims She Was Only in ‘Silent Prayer’

Pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce in an undated file photo. (Courtesy of ADF UK)

A pro-lifer who told police she “might” be praying silently has been arrested and charged on four counts with breaching an exclusion zone outside a Birmingham abortion clinic.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested on Dec. 6 and subsequently charged on Dec. 15 with four counts of failing to comply with a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

She was bailed to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Feb. 2, 2023.

Vaughan-Spruce is the leader of the pro-life group 40 Days for Life Birmingham. Volunteers are present during these times in groups of two to four at a time. The group claims that volunteers hold no posters, banners, or placards and never use megaphones.

“The PSPO creates a zone around a specific facility to protect women from harassment by any means if they are seeking a medical procedure or advice at an abortion clinic,” a police spokeswoman told The Epoch Times by email.

PSPO

After a complaint, police approached Isabel Vaughan-Spruce standing near the Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham.

Vaughan-Spruce told The Epoch Times that said she was asked by police if she was praying. She said that she might be “silently in her head,” after which she was arrested.

The legal organisation supporting Vaughan-Spruce is ADF UK.

“The recent increase in buffer zone legislation and orders is a watershed moment in our country,” said Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK.

“We must ask ourselves whether we are a genuinely democratic country committed to protecting the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of speech. We are at serious risk of mindlessly sleepwalking into a society that accepts, normalises, and even promotes the “tyranny of the majority,” he added.

It is understood that this is the first arrest in Birmingham under the PSPO.

Introduced by Birmingham City Council, the buffer zone measure, which came into force on Sept. 7, prohibits “protesting, namely engaging in any act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means.”

“This includes but is not limited to graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling.”

Prayer or Counselling

Normally used for substance abuse and criminality issues, PSPOs create buffer zones, which enable local authorities to prevent certain anti-social activities from taking place in an area.

A “buffer zone” means an area within a boundary of 150 metres from any part of an abortion clinic or any access point to any building or site that contains an abortion clinic. Breaking a PSPO can lead to a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.

The Robert Clinic is run by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the leading provider of abortion services in the UK with over 40 abortion clinics and sexual health centres in England, Wales, and Scotland.

In November, the Christian Legal Centre and Vaughan-Spruce announced that they were pursuing a statutory review of the council’s decision to put in place the PSPO.

Public Order Bill

In October, UK MPs supported proposals to make anti-abortion protests and vigils around clinics a criminal offence in England and Wales, going beyond PSPOs.

The amendment to the Public Order Bill to introduce buffer zones around abortion clinics was backed by a cross-party group of MPs.

The amendment contained a ban on “influencing,” “advising,” “persuading,” and “expressing opinion.”

The Conservative government’s bill was designed to strengthen police powers against disruptive tactics by climate activists such as Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, and Insulate Britain.

If passed, anyone within the buffer zone seeking to influence a woman’s decision on abortion could face criminal charges and up to six months in jail for a first offence, or two years for further offences.

Pro-life organisation Right To Life UK called them “censorship zones“ that ”infringe on free speech“ and that it is ”not just pro-life advocates who oppose them.”

A number of prominent human rights groups and campaigners oppose the introduction of buffer zones, such as LGBT campaigner Peter Tatchell, the Manifesto Club, Big Brother Watch, Index on Censorship, and the Freedom Association.

People attend an anti-abortion pro-life vigil on the street outside the Marie Stopes clinic, that offers contraception and abortion services, in Ealing, west London, on April 21, 2018. (Alice Ritchie/AFP via Getty Images)

At the time, Katherine O’Brien, associate director of communications and campaigns at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, told The Epoch Times that the existing laws “do not deal with anti-abortion clinic protests effectively, unfortunately.”

“Clinic harassment has an impact disproportionate to the behaviour involved, largely because of the lack of ability to avoid the activity while women and providers have to walk past them to access the clinic, the confidential nature of medical care, and the heightened emotional state of many clients,” she said.

“As a result, existing laws that are designed to deal with persistent harassment, public disorder, and protest are not sufficient to address the issue,” O’Brien added.

O’Brien said that PSPOs are not a permanent solution.

“They create a postcode lottery where many other women are unable to access care without harassment. They are expensive to introduce and uphold in court, making councils less likely to risk their introduction,” she said.

The Epoch Times contacted Birmingham Council for a response.