Woman Prosecuted in the UK for Praying Quietly Near Abortion Clinic

(Isabel Vaughan-Spruce. Photo Credit: WNG.org)

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce says she is not guilty of five new charges.

The charges say she prayed quietly inside a buffer zone outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham, in the UK.

The case was heard over three days at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

The judge, Tan Ikram, said the first charge was not written properly.

So the prosecution brought five new charges, one for each time she is said to have prayed in the zone.

Vaughan-Spruce is a charity volunteer.

She was first charged in December 2025.

She is the first person to face prosecution under the buffer zone law, which started in October 2024.

The law bans anyone from trying to change a person's decision about abortion within 150 metres of a clinic.

The judge said the law needs an act to happen inside the zone.

He said the court is not there to judge anyone's beliefs, only whether a crime was committed.

Her lawyers say she has been picked out unfairly.

They argue she would not have been charged if people did not know her pro-life views.

They also say the law goes against her right to think and believe what she wants.

Jeremiah Igunnubole, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, said charging someone for what they believe in a certain place is wrong.

He said the law is being used to punish peaceful people, when harassment is already a crime.

Vaughan-Spruce says she has been cleared of wrongdoing before and received money from the state after two arrests she said were unfair.

She says standing quietly and holding a belief should not be a crime.