Conservatives and free speech activists railed against a recent video showing police interrogations on Twitter finally arrest A pro-life woman praying silently outside a UK abortion clinic.
Those who witnessed the woman’s arrest after admitting that she was “praying in my head” were appalled. Some claimed it was proof that Great Britain had become a dystopia.
The woman arrested is Isabelle Vaughan-Sprouse, director of the UK March for Life.
according to the Alliance Defending Freedom UK (ADF UK), Vaughan-Sprouse was “standing near the BPAS Robert Clinic in King’s Norton, Birmingham, in an area which ADF UK called a ‘censorship zone’ when police approached her after a bystander complained that She must be praying outside an abortion facility.”
According to ADF UK, Birmingham authorities have established buffer zones near abortion clinics, making it illegal for people to engage in behavior that disapproves or approves of abortion. This includes “graphic, oral or written means, prayer or counsel”.
The clip shows the woman standing quietly on a curb in front of an abortion clinic as British law enforcement officers approach her. One asks why she is standing there and replies that she is there because of the abortion clinic. She denies that she is part of any protest.
The officer then asks, “Are you praying?” To which she replies, “I can pray in my head.” The officer then asks her if she would be willing to go to the station for questioning about her actions. “If I have a choice, no,” she replies, after which the officer says, “You are under arrest” and claims she is on suspicion of “failure to comply with a public place safety order.” Is charged.
Anglican priest Rev Calvin Robinson slammed what he saw in the footage, saying, “It’s terrible. What have we become?! Even under a Conservative government. ,
Sohrab Ahmari, a Catholic writer and founder of Compact Magazine, tweeted, “Oye you go’ a license to pray in your ‘eid ma’am?”
Pro-life advocate Emily Rurick wrote, “This is complete insanity. How can someone be arrested for praying?”
Virginia GOP Representative Nick Freitas took this opportunity to remind users of George Orwell’s dystopia, tweeting, “1984 was a warning, not a guide.”
Brandon Morse, Radstate’s deputy managing editor, said, “If abortion advocates don’t believe in God and think prayer is really silly then what are they afraid of?”
Conservative pundit Lauren Chen tweeted, “People are literally being arrested thought crime in the UK. Free speech is not a Western value, it is a uniquely American one.
Neil Gardiner, a former aide to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, commented “It’s appalling. It’s a shame to see a woman arrested just for praying in a British street. This shouldn’t happen under a Conservative government, and the Home Secretary Action should be taken by the HC to ensure that such scenes do not recur.”
National Review staff writer Nate Hochman tweeted, “Sorry, but imagine not having a First Amendment.”