{"id":262756,"date":"2022-12-24T06:10:45","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T06:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=262756"},"modified":"2022-12-25T08:58:57","modified_gmt":"2022-12-25T08:58:57","slug":"are-you-praying-authorities-arrest-woman-for-silently-praying-outside-an-abortion-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=262756","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Are You Praying?\u2019 Authorities Arrest Woman for Silently Praying Outside an Abortion Clinic"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Mary Margaret Olohan \u2013 The Daily Signal Dec 22, 2022<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Authorities have arrested a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/12\/16\/doj-charges-2-more-pro-life-women-with-face-act-violations\/\">pro-life woman<\/a> for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>News of Isabel Vaughan Spruce\u2019s arrest comes amid anxieties over the Justice Department\u2019s crackdown on pro-life activists in the United States, such as Mark Houck, a pro-life father arrested for allegedly pushing an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/10\/31\/abortion-clinic-moves-across-state-line-it-isnt-getting-a-warm-welcome\/\">abortion clinic<\/a> volunteer who was reportedly bothering his son as they prayed outside an abortion clinic.<\/p>\n<p>Footage published by Alliance Defending Freedom shows police confronting Spruce, who has been charged with breaking a Public Space Protection Order for praying silently near an abortion clinic on four different occasions in Kings Norton, Birmingham.<\/p>\n<p>The woman stands silently praying as the police approach her and ask what she is doing, after which she tells them that she \u201cmight\u201d be praying in her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you praying?\u201d He asks her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI might be praying in my head,\u201d she responds.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police in the UK arrest a woman for silently praying: <\/p>\n<p>&quot;Are you praying?&quot; <\/p>\n<p>&quot;I might be praying in my head.&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7Q8UnKmfa1\">pic.twitter.com\/7Q8UnKmfa1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MaryMargOlohan\/status\/1605957711631249408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 22, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The police then search her, arrest her, take her to a police station where they interrogate her, and charge her with breaking the Public Space Protection Order by silently praying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo citizen should be criminalised for legitimate, peaceful activity, even prayer. Isabel\u2019s case demonstrates just how far the state can go if we do not vigilantly guard fundamental rights and freedoms,\u201d Scottish communications officer for ADF UK Lois McLatchie said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPoliticians in Westminster and Holyrood should take note as they consider rolling out this censorial measure nationwide\u2014if we truly value civil liberties and fundamental rights it should unfathomable for the law to permit a repeat of Isabel\u2019s experience, let alone endorsed by our elected representatives and rolled out nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>WATCH: <\/strong><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k6E105a58p8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n&#8212;<\/div>\n<p>Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK, emphasized that the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 \u201cpermits a constable to search an arrested person \u2018for anything he might use to assist him to escape lawful custody\u2019 or \u2018which might be evidence relating to an offence.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But such searches must be \u201creasonably required,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can safely conclude that our fundamental rights and freedoms are in jeopardy if a search of hair is considered \u2018reasonably required\u2019 for a suspected crime of praying, even silent prayer,\u201d Igunnubole added. \u201cAs the Public Order Bill goes through Parliament, it\u2019s crucial that Isabel\u2019s experience is kept firmly in the mind of MPs. No one should be criminalised for the peaceful, harmless practice of their faith, let alone thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the United States, the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/crt\/recent-cases-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers\">has charged<\/a>\u00a0almost 30 pro-life individuals with Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act violations this year.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/10\/26\/dojs-kristen-clarke-pro-abortion-activist-enforcing-law-pro-lifers\/\">Justice Department<\/a>\u00a0has been using the FACE Act to target pro-life activists as a response to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>The associate attorney general\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/speech\/associate-attorney-general-vanita-gupta-delivers-remarks-civil-rights-divisions-65th\">described<\/a>\u00a0the overturn of Roe v. Wade as a \u201cdevastating blow to women throughout the country\u201d that took away \u201cthe constitutional right to abortion\u201d and increased \u201cthe urgency\u201d of the DOJ\u2019s work\u2014including the \u201cenforcement of the FACE Act, to ensure continued lawful access to reproductive services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division\u00a0enforces\u00a0the FACE Act, which \u201cprohibits threats of force, obstruction and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It protects both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/12\/06\/exclusive-amid-scores-of-attacks-doj-shares-its-investigating-multiple-reports-of-potentially-unlawful-conduct-against-pregnancy-centers\/\">pro-life pregnancy centers<\/a> and abortion clinics, as a DOJ official\u00a0noted\u00a0to Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, last week.<\/p>\n<p>At least\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/catholicvote.org\/tracker-church-attacks\/\">98 Catholic churches<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/catholicvote.org\/pregnancy-center-attack-tracker\/\">77 pregnancy resource centers<\/a>\u00a0and other pro-life organizations have been attacked since May, but the DOJ has apparently not charged a single person in connection with these attacks. The DOJ has not responded to The Daily Signal\u2019s requests for comment on this point.<\/p>\n<p>Pregnancy resource centers are typically run by pro-life women who seek to offer expectant mothers alternatives to abortion. Such centers provide diapers, baby clothes, and resources for both mothers and fathers, empowering them to care for their child, overcome addictions, build community, and find jobs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><em>Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"mailto:letters@DailySignal.com\"><em>letters@DailySignal.com<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0and we\u2019ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular \u201cWe Hear You\u201d feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and\/or state.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. <a href=\"https:\/\/secured.heritage.org\/dailysignal?utm_source=dailysignal&amp;utm_medium=textllink&amp;utm_campaign=tds_onsite&amp;utm_content=0615_donatenow\">Donate now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/12\/22\/are-you-praying-authorities-arrest-woman-silently-praying-outside-abortion-clinic\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Woman arrested, interrogated and charged with breaking the Public Space Protection Order for silently praying outside a UK abortion clinic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":262758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=262756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262757,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262756\/revisions\/262757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/262758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=262756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=262756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=262756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}