In another example of dangers of tyrannical thought crime legislation meant to stifle free speech, a woman in England has been arrested and charged after reports she “might” be praying silently near an abortion abattoir allegedly in breach of a censorship ban imposed in the vicinity around such facilities to prevent “harassment”.
Police in Birmingham approached charity volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce who was standing near the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton in the city after receiving complaints that she might be praying.
Despite the fact that Mrs. Vaughan-Spruce was not carrying a sign and was completely silent, police arrested her after asking if she was praying under “suspicion of failing to comply with the Public Spaces Protection Order” charged on four counts ADF.UK reported.
Vaughan-Spruce will appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on February 2 next year Birmingham Mail reports.
“It’s abhorrently wrong that I was searched, arrested, interrogated by police and charged simply for praying in the privacy of my own mind. Censorship zones purport to ban harassment, which is already illegal. Nobody should ever be subject to harassment. But what I did was the furthest thing from harmful – I was exercising my freedom of thought, my freedom of religion, inside the privacy of my own mind. Nobody should be criminalised for thinking and for praying, in a public space in the UK,” said Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, following her arrest for silent prayer.
The censorship zone measure introduced by Birmingham authorities criminalises individuals perceived to be “engaging in any act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval” in relation to abortion, including through “verbal or written means, prayer or counselling…”.
The UK has led the way in criminalising speech and expression which is frowned upon by the establishment but the Irish government is quickly following suit with Justice Minister Simon Harris taking up Helen McEntee’s mantel in pushing for so-called “hate speech” legislation.
Since her arrest Mrs. Vaughan-Spruce spoke out about her persecution with Fox News Host Tucker Carlson detailing how she was interrogated by police to determine what she was praying about after her arrest and explained she has been charged with four counts of protesting and “engaging in an act intimidating of service users” i.e. praying silently.
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