British Christian charity volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is set to appear in Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on January 29, 2026, for silently praying outside the Robert Clinic abortion facility. Charged under the draconian Public Order Act 2023’s “buffer zone” provisions, which ban “influencing” decisions within 150 meters of clinics, this marks the first criminal case under the national law enacted in October 2024.
Vaughan-Spruce, who intends to plead not guilty, faces prosecution for merely standing in a public space with pro-life thoughts—thoughts that affirm the sanctity of every unborn life as a gift from God. This isn’t her first ordeal. For two decades, Vaughan-Spruce has peacefully prayed near the clinic, but radical leftist policies have turned silent devotion into a crime. Arrested twice in 2023 under local orders for the same act—once when the facility was closed—she was acquitted both times, with West Midlands Police paying £13,000 in compensation for violating her human rights.
Yet, in March 2025, police reopened investigations into her January prayers, dragging the process nearly a year before charging her in December.Vaughan-Spruce declared: “Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it’s unbelievable that I have yet again been charged for standing in that public area, and holding pro-life beliefs. Silent prayer – or holding pro-life beliefs – cannot possibly be a crime. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought.” ADF International’s Jeremiah Igunnubole blasted the law: “‘Buffer zones’ are among the most concerning frontiers of censorship in the modern West… We will continue to robustly challenge this unjust censorship.”
Even U.S. Vice President JD Vance condemned UK policies at the 2026 March for Life: “It’s why we speak up when other nations throw pro-life and pro-family advocates in prison for silent prayer… it’s got to stop.” This Orwellian pursuit exposes the left’s war on conscience, criminalizing prayers that defend the innocent unborn against the abortion industry’s grip. As Western freedoms erode, standing for life’s sanctity demands unyielding resistance.