Two British Christians on trial for silently praying near an abortion clinic were acquitted Thursday of charges they violated a Public Spaces Protection Order by a Birmingham, England, magistrates’ court.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, whose Dec. 6 arrest by police was shown in a viral video, and the Rev. Sean Gough, a Catholic priest at St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic Church in Wolverhampton, were charged after their silent prayers outside the British Pregnancy Advisory Service clinic in the city’s Kings Norton neighborhood.
Although the Crown Prosecution Service declined to advance either case, both were warned the charges against them could be revived if additional evidence surfaced. The defendants said they wanted a court trial to quash the charges and determine their actions were legal.
“I’m glad I’ve been vindicated of any wrongdoing,” Ms. Vaughan-Spruce said in a statement. “But I should never have been arrested for my thoughts and treated like a criminal simply for silently praying on a public street.”
After telling police she might have been praying “in my head,” Ms. Vaughan-Spruce was searched and driven to a police station. The actions were recorded in a video that’s received just under 49,000 views since it was posted on YouTube in late December.
Father Gough was approached by police as he stood silently near the clinic holding a sign reading, “Praying for Freedom Speech,” which police said violated the clinic’s protection order. They also said a sticker on the priest’s car reading “Unborn Lives Matter” violated the order because the vehicle was parked near the clinic.
He was not arrested, but police filed criminal charges against the clergyman on Dec. 20.
Both individuals stood near the clinic while it was closed, and no clients were in the vicinity, said the U.K. office of Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the pair in court.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF U.K., called the decision one “of great cultural significance.” The attorney then invoked George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984,” which defined what a “thought crime” was.
He said, “This isn’t ‘1984,’ but 2023. Nobody should be criminalized for their thoughts, for their prayers, for peaceful expression on a public street. [The British] parliament is considering rolling out censorial legislation, which could lead to more situations where people’s thoughts are on trial.”
Mr. Igunnubole said, “We all stand firmly against harassment on public streets,” adding that such action already is illegal under U.K. law. He called on parliament “to reject the creation of more censorship zones through vaguely worded public order legislation.”
