A priest and a Catholic woman who were prosecuted for praying silently outside an abortion clinic have been acquitted.
Newsroom (February 21, 2023, 10:55 AM, Gaudium Press) Fr. Sean Gough and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of the anti-abortion group March for Life UK, brought to trial on charges of allegedly violating a rule prohibiting demonstrations near abortion centers, were acquitted yesterday by Birmingham Magistrates’ Court in England.
Both the priest and Isabel, who has been fighting for pro-life causes for over 20 years, were legally assisted by Jeremiah Igunnubole of the Christian legal advocacy group ADF UK: “The cases of Isabel and Father Sean show that the current plans to introduce censorship zones in England and Wales are a dangerous step towards an illiberal society.”
“This is not 1984, but 2023: no one should be criminalized for their thoughts, for their prayers, for expressing themselves peacefully on the public highway,” the lawyer told the press after the court ruling.
In effect since November, the regulation that Isabel and Fr. Gough were allegedly violating was the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which prohibits prayers, distribution of information about pregnancy help services, and other activities considered to be “protest.”
Isabel was specifically charged with “protesting and participating in an act of intimidation of service users.” Except that what she did was pray, silently and mentally, and when the abortion clinic was closed.
Therefore, Isabel declares, “I am happy to have been vindicated for any offense. But I should never have been arrested for my thoughts and treated as a criminal simply for praying silently on a public street.” He added, “what is deeply antisocial are the measures being taken to censor freedom of speech, freedom to offer help, freedom to pray, and even freedom to think.”
As reported, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested on December 6 in front of an abortion center. The moment of the arrest was recorded on video and allows us to verify the circumstances: A police officer approaches her and asks if she was praying. Isabel then replies that “I could be praying in my head”.
The priest
For the same reason, the priest from the Archdiocese of Birmingham was accused of “intimidating users of the service” in an area of censorship. Fr. Gough was silent, but held up a sign that read “praying for free speech,” ADF reported. He was also accused of parking his car in this area with a pro-life bumper sticker: “unborn lives matter.”
“Whatever your views on abortion, we can all agree that a democratic country cannot prosecute for thought crimes,” the priest commented.
The problem is that there are parts of the regulations that are not well defined, which would allow for certain interpretations to the effect that a simple prayer could be considered a prohibited “influence,” carrying a prison sentence for up to two years.
Demonstrators outside the courthouse held signs saying ‘prayer is not a thought crime’.
With information from adfinternational.org
Compiled by Zephania Gangl
