UPDATE: Woman criminally charged for silent prayer

Country: United Kingdom

Date of incident: December 17, 2025

British charitable volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has been criminally charged in Birmingham under the UK’s new national abortion “buffer zone” law for silently praying near an abortion facility, with her trial scheduled for 29 January 2026. This is the first known prosecution under the Public Order Act 2023, highlighting tensions between public-order regulations and freedom of conscience.

According to ADF International, Vaughan-Spruce was charged for allegedly breaching the buffer zone by “influencing” people accessing abortion services, even though her conduct consisted solely of silent prayer. The law, which came into force in October 2024, prohibits influence within 150 metres of abortion facilities.

Offences under the Public Order Act 2023 are not limited to handing out leaflets or loudly protesting outside abortion clinics, but can also include prayer, even if silent, according to the British government.

This follows years of similar encounters with police. Vaughan-Spruce had previously been arrested under a local buffer zone order but was acquitted and received a £13,000 settlement from West Midlands Police after the arrests were found to violate her human rights (OIDAC reported).

The prosecution raises serious concerns under the European Convention on Human Rights (Articles 9 and 10). Treating silent prayer as unlawful “influence” blurs the line between regulating conduct and policing belief, creating a chilling effect on public religious expression.

As reported by The Telegraph, the case has also drawn unusually direct criticism from the US government, which called the prosecution “concerning” and an “unwelcome departure” from shared transatlantic values, emphasizing that silent prayer “should not constitute harm.” Vice President JD Vance described UK buffer zones as an attack on the “basic liberties of religious Britons.”