religious freedom

Charges Dropped Against Christian Woman Arrested After Silently Praying in Her Head Outside Clinic — but She Plans to Continue the Battle

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Photo: Alliance Defending Freedom UK

U.K. authorities have dropped charges against a charity worker who was criminally charged for praying near an abortion clinic, but her case might be far from over.

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Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) charges against Isabel Vaughan-Spruce have been dismissed, but she has no plans of stepping away from the legal battle.

According to a press release from her attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom UK, Vaughan-Spruce “will continue to await justice as she states her intention to pursue full dismissal of her charges.”

Uncertainty as to her legal rights has led the charity worker to fear potential new charges or legal issues moving forward, so she’s looking for a “clear verdict in court.”

“Given the nature of Vaughan-Spruce’s regular voluntary work in offering charitable support to women in crisis pregnancies near abortion facilities, the discontinuance has left her with significant legal unclarity moving forward, given that CPS made clear that the charges ‘may well start again’ in the near future subject to further evidential review,” the statement reads.

As CBN News previously reported, Vaughan-Spruce, the director of the UK March for Life, was arrested in Birmingham, England, this past December after she said she “might” be silently praying when questioned as to why she was standing on a public street near an abortion clinic.

Vaughan-Spruce was reportedly silent before police approached her and had no signage in her hands. Her offense? According to CBN News, authorities received complaints from an onlooker who suspected she was praying silently in her mind in a so-called “censorship zone.”

Video of her police encounter went viral and sparked an international reaction. Vaughan-Spruce can be seen in the clip interacting with police and explaining she “might” be praying in her head but isn’t protesting. “You’re under arrest,” a cop proclaims in the viral video before detaining her.

The City of Birmingham maintains buffer zones around abortion clinics; these designations render it illegal for people to engage “in any act of approval or disapproval” surrounding abortion, including through “verbal or written means, prayer or counseling.”

Through Vaughan-Spruce’s ADF UK attorneys, she explained why she’s forging on to seek a more definitive conclusion clarifying her legal rights.

“It can’t be right that I was arrested and made a criminal, only for praying in my head on a public street,” she said. “So-called ‘buffer zone legislation’ will result in so many more people like me, doing good and legal activities like offering charitable support to women in crisis pregnancies, or simply praying in their heads, being treated like criminals and even facing court.”

Vaughan-Spruce said she wants to be able to continue her pro-life charity work and, in order do to so, she wants to have a clear legal status.

“Many of us need an answer as to whether it’s still lawful to pray silently in our own heads,” she continued. “That’s why I’ll be pursuing a verdict regarding my charges in court.”

 

Silent Prayer Now A Thought Crime in UK

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Silent prayer, just looking like you might be praying, is now a crime in some parts of the UK.

From spiked-omline.com

Thoughtcrime is now a reality in Britain

Why was an activist arrested for praying silently in the street?

ANDREW TETTENBORN

22nd December 2022
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TopicsFREE SPEECHPOLITICSUK

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A recent event in suburban Birmingham offers a stark reminder of the threat to free speech posed by Britain’s censorious state.

Earlier this month, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was standing silently in a public street. She was doing, saying and displaying absolutely nothing, apparently lost in thought. A policeman approached her. He asked if she was inwardly praying. When she said she might have been, he immediately arrested her, took her to a police station and searched her. Last week, Vaughan-Spruce was told she faces prosecution.

How did this happen? First, Vaughan-Spruce was known to be a member of a pro-life organisation. And second, she was within 150 metres of an abortion clinic, inside a so-called buffer zone. In September, Birmingham City Council introduced a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which makes any ‘act of approval or disapproval’ toward abortion in the surroundings of the clinic a criminal offence, on pain of a £1,000 fine. This restriction applies to any expression related to abortion services, by any method: whether by graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling, or in any other way. So Vaughan-Spruce’s alleged silent prayer was apparently enough. Someone had disapproved of her presence and asked the police to get rid of her. All the ploddingly literal-minded copper needed was Vaughan-Spruce’s admission that she might have been privately communing with her god and might therefore have been illegally praying in a restricted area.

 

Whatever your view on abortion, even if you are strongly pro-choice, this whole episode should worry you immensely. The implications for personal liberty are terrifying. If an arrest for silent prayer is not an instance of Orwellian ‘thoughtcrime’, then I don’t know what is.

Worse still, the restrictions set out in the PSPO give the police huge scope to silence outspoken campaigners. Police can order someone they believe to be breaking a PSPO’s rules to leave the area immediately and to give their name and address. Alleged rulebreakers can also be arrested or fined. After Vaughan-Spruce’s arrest, matters only got worse. As part of her conditions of bail, she was banned from engaging in public prayer, even outside the bounds of the PSPO. Initially, she was even told not to have any contact with a local Catholic priest active in the pro-life movement (though this condition has since been dropped). Nobody should ever be subject to such draconian restrictions on their expression.

 

Read the full article here

Andrew Thorburn Vindicated For Faith Position

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Andrew Thorburn, who was briefly CEO of Essendon AFL Club in October before being sacked for belonging to a church, has settled with the club over the affair.

The original issue was big news, but you have to go digging through the news sites to find the latest development. Typical of the spineless media.

Thorburn has at all times acted with integrity and in a Christ-like attitude, and it is good to see him being vindicated.

As one commentator noted this morning, there is a fair level of legal protection of religious beliefs in Australia, even though most corporations just bow to the woke mob on these issues. Hopefully there will be more recognition of the concept of freedom of religion in the public sphere.

Recently re-elected Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews also needs to make an apology to Thorburn for his slanderous and vicious comments in October, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that.

From the ABC on MSN:

Essendon Football Club apologises to Andrew Thorburn over handling of his short stint as CEO

 
 
 

The Essendon Football Club has apologised to former CEO Andrew Thorburn over the way it handled the events leading to his departure after just one day in the role.

Mr Thorburn was appointed as the Bombers CEO in October, but resigned a day later after public commentary over his involvement in a church which had shared controversial views about homosexuality and abortion.

Mr Thorburn said at the time it was clear to him that his personal Christian faith was “not tolerated or permitted in the public square”, despite his leadership record.

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the two parties said they had resolved the dispute over the matter and would work to “enable a wider community conversation on the importance of freedom of conscience, religion and belief”.

Essendon Football Club said it acknowledged “that the events of October should have been handled better and apologises for the impact it had on Mr Thorburn, his family and others”.

“Both parties consider that elements of the public commentary at the time were extreme and wrong and counter-productive to the respectful community dialogue they agree is critical,” the statement said.

 

“Mr Thorburn remains welcome at the Club. The Club reiterates that he is a person of integrity who treats others, whether at work or elsewhere, with dignity and respect.

“He has a strong track record of leadership including with respect to diversity and inclusion of LGBTIQ and other minority groups.”

The statement noted genuine diversity should include people of faith and “everyone should be able to openly express their personal position, in a respectful way, without fear and still feel that they belong”.

As part of the dispute resolution, the Essendon Football Club will make a donation to an ethics institute to prepare a paper on how sporting organisations can build “inclusive communities recognising freedoms including those relating to race, religion and sexuality”.

The statement did not specify which institute would be funded to prepare the paper.