The U.K.’s prosecution of a British pro-life activist for standing silently within an abortion centre buffer zone is not only “concerning” as it violates “common sense” but is an “unwelcome departure” from shared transatlantic values, said a Trump administration official.
According to a report in The Telegraph, the spokesman for the U.S. State Department is addressing the case of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Catholic pro-life activist who was charged last Wednesday for standing and silently praying on the street outside an abortion facility in Birmingham.
Her case marks the first time a person has been accused of violating the country’s new abortion “buffer zone” law, which went into effect in October 2024 under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023. The law prohibits “influencing” anyone’s decision to access, commit, or facilitate abortion “services” within 150 meters of an abortion centre.
According to ADF International, the new law “does not mention silent prayer specifically” and Crown Prosecution Service guidance on the law “stipulates that silent prayer on its own is not enough to meet the threshold of criminality unless it is accompanied by ‘overt’ activity,” yet Vaughan-Spruce is being prosecuted for this silent internal activity nonetheless.
Such mere thought, according to the U.S. official, “should not constitute harm.”
“The decision to prosecute a woman engaged in silent prayer is not only concerning in terms of its impact on respect for the fundamental freedoms of expression and religion or belief, but is also an unwelcome departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations,” the State Department spokesman told The Telegraph.
“We are monitoring Isabel’s case closely. It is common sense that standing silently and offering conversation should not constitute harm,” he or she said.