There was a time when almost all forms of civil disobedience, including demonstrations of protest, were permitted in Britain. That was when Britain was a free country. It is not free now.
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The U.K. March for Life director was recently arrested after police found her praying silently outside of an abortion clinic, according to a press release by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) U.K.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a charity volunteer and Christian, was approached by police officers outside of BPAS Robert Clinic in Birmingham, England, and asked if she was praying, according to ADF’s press release. Vaughan-Spruce told the officers she “might be praying silently”.
“It’s abhorrently wrong that I was searched, arrested, interrogated by police and charged simply for praying in the privacy of my own mind,” Vaughan-Spruce stated in the release. “Nobody should be criminalized for thinking and for praying, in a public space in the UK.”
The press release stated that Vaughan-Spruce was also confronted by the police with pictures of her standing outside the clinic and demanded to know if she had been praying in the pictures. Vaughan-Spruce only said it was possible that she had been praying but could not know for sure from the pictures.
“Some of the time she had spent praying, other times she had been distracted and thought about other things, such as her lunch,” ADF wrote. “She maintains that both of these thoughts were equally peaceful and imperceptible and that neither should be criminalized.”
Vaughan-Spruce’s bail initially prohibited her from praying in Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) zones to “prevent further offenses.” PSPOs are used in England to target “antisocial” behavior and create a “buffer zone” to prevent protests or demonstrations, according to i News.
Kathrine O’Brien from the BPAS Robert Clinic told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the clinic is looking forward to Parliament’s new amendment that will create PSPOs around all abortion clinics in England and Wales in 2023.
“Every year, around 100,000 women are treated by a clinic or hospital for an abortion that is targeted by anti-abortion protests,” O’Brien stated. “These groups attempt to deter or prevent women from accessing abortion care by displaying graphic images of foetuses, calling women ‘murderers’, and hanging baby clothing around clinic entrances, causing women significant distress.”
Currently, an infraction of the PSPOs, which includes praying and using words [silently or aloud?] like “baby,” “mum” or “counseling,” could result in a six-month prison sentence.