British pro-life leader and silent prayer enthusiast Isabella Vaughan-Spruce is back in the headlines in 2025 after once again challenging the UK buffer zone laws. New footage released by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) shows a police officer accost Vaughan-Spruce and ask her to leave based solely on her presence as an individual.
The video, featured below, shows the police officer explaining that the “mere presence” of Vaughan-Spruce could be construed as “harassment” that could lead to “alarm and distress.”
Even though she was not doing anything that could have been outwardly identified as protesting abortion, the officer indicated that her position as a pro-life leader is enough to constitute breaching the 150-meter “buffer zones,” that protect abortion facilities in the UK from protest.
While it does not appear that she was arrested this time – as she has been several times in recent years for standing too close to abortion facilities in silent prayer – Vaughan-Spruce was understandably confused and upset by the interaction. It was just a few months ago that the West Midlands Police Department had to pay Vaughan-Spruce to settle two cases of wrongful arrest made for standing silently in the vicinity of an abortion facility.
Furthermore, in October 2024, CPS issued guidance that clarified that silent prayer is “not necessarily” a crime in an abortion “buffer zone.” It went on to instruct law enforcement that the threshold of criminality is not met unless the actions of the individual are “overt,” meaning Vaughan-Spruce would have needed to be holding a sign or speaking out against abortion to have been in breach of the law.
Now, Vaughan-Spruce and ADF are challenging the West Midlands Police Department to explain how the simple presence of a specific individual amounts to a criminal offense.
“It has been made clear time and time again … you cannot break the law by simply existing in a buffer zone, holding thoughts and beliefs in your mind,” Vaughan-Spruce commented in an ADF report. “Every person has a right to stand in a public space and think what they want. The police officer told me that my “mere presence” was offensive – that’s nothing short of viewpoint discrimination. He believes that just because I hold pro-life beliefs, I am automatically a criminal in certain public areas. This isn’t right.”
Meanwhile ADF UK legal counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole decried the whole situation as an example of “viewpoint-based two-tier policing.” While the report did not indicate that ADF was readying to enter a legal dispute after this incident, Igunnubole’s comments suggested that the group would like to see legal precedent do away with the policing of individuals’ thoughts:
“If Isabel can be treated this way then what does this mean for all Christians holding to biblical truths? This isn’t 1984; it’s 2025 – police must respect the fundamental rights of freedom of speech, thought and association.”
