A Catholic pro-life volunteer, twice arrested for praying silently outside an abortion clinic, has received a payout from the UK police force who arrested her.
Speaking on 19 August the day the 13,000 pound ($16,900) payout was announced, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of March for Life UK, said: “Discrimination against pro-lifers is not acceptable.”
West Midlands police previously arrested the Catholic campaigner twice for praying silently outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham before issuing an apology for doing so.
In the first case, she was arrested in November 2022. She was was fully acquitted of all charges at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court in February 2023 after the prosecution was unable to offer evidence to support the arrest charge.
She was arrested again in March 2023, just a few weeks after her acquittal, and six months later she received notification that she would not be prosecuted.
In a letter, the police said there would be “no further investigation into the alleged matter, and there will be no further action taken.”
After pursuing a claim against West Midlands Police, Vaughan-Spruce has finally received the payout recognising their unjust treatment of her and breach of her human rights.
“I’m delighted to have acknowledgement that both my arrests were a clear violation of my most basic human rights and I hope this sends a signal to police forces around the country that discrimination against pro-lifers is not acceptable,” Vaughan-Spruce told OSV News, commenting on the payout.
In Bournemouth, two pro-life advocates, Adam Smith-Connor and Livia Tossici-Bolt, await trial in relation to locally-imposed “buffer zones.” Both were praying silently outside abortion clinics, with Tossici-Bolt holding a sign which said “Here to talk if you want.”