A UK woman has been arrested for praying near an abortion center and warned that more arrests could follow | Daily News Byte

A British woman arrested for praying near an abortion center in Birmingham, England, told Fox News she fears her situation won’t be the last in the UK under new anti-protest laws.

On “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Isabelle von-Spruce said she has long engaged in silent prayer outside clinics, and said dozens of women have accepted her offer of help and continued their pregnancies instead of terminating them as planned.

She explained to host Tucker Carlson how the anti-protest policy is used to contain similar behavior at abortion centers.

“In September this year, the local council in Birmingham brought in this censorship zone, this PSPO – it was previously used for dog fouling and drunken behavior and things like that,” Von-Spruce said. “But they’re now popping up around the country around abortion centers, and they’ve banned protest-like behavior, but they also name prayer and counseling as forms of protest.”

Pro-life activist arrested for silently praying near abortion facility

A cross necklace hanging in front of the window
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“Four times, I went and stood by a closed abortion center and quietly prayed there. And as you can see, the police came and asked me if I was protesting, which I wasn’t. They asked me if I prayed. am, and I said I might be praying quietly; I am under arrest.

Von-Spruce added that authorities detained her in a cell, questioned her about the prayer she was praying, and later released her on bail with a scheduled appearance in February on four counts of resisting and engaging in an act of intimidation and intimidation of service users. was

However, she also said that people on both sides of the abortion debate have come to her aid. She said abortion rights advocates also have concerns about the protest law.

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“That in itself is very encouraging to hear, that it’s not necessarily about people who support abortion or don’t support abortion. It’s more to do with freedom of thought here,” she said. “It goes beyond freedom of prayer. I mean, we all talk about the cancellation culture and talk about people worrying about cancellations. [for] public speaking.”

Von-Sprous said the idea of ​​arresting someone for something they are thinking, apparently not doing, is surreal, and its proponents invoke George Orwell and his novel “1984.”

Carlson concluded that what happened to von-Spruce was an “evil act” and said that British officials from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should not stand by.

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“It’s a human right. They can’t take it away from you,” he said in part.

Vaughn-Spruce, director of the UK March for Life, was standing in what Alliance Defending Freedom-UK called a “censorship zone” near the BPAS Robert Clinic in King’s Norton, Birmingham, when she was approached by police when a spectator complained. Pray outside Abortion facility The report said.

Authorities in Birmingham established a buffer zone around abortion clinics, making it illegal for a person to engage in any act or attempt to approve or disapprove as it relates to abortion and includes “oral or written means” such as “prayer or counselling”. .

Fox News’ Kendall Tietz contributed to this report.