Funviralpark Conservatives and free speech activists took to Twitter to lash out at a recent video that showed police interrogating and eventually arresting a pro-life woman praying quietly outside a UK abortion clinic. .
People who saw the woman’s arrest were appalled after she admitted she was “praying in her head”.
The arrested woman, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, is the director of March for Life in the UK.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom UK (ADF UK), Vaughan-Spruce was “standing near the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, in what ADF UK called the ‘censored zone’. Praying outside the abortion facility. ”
According to ADF UK, Birmingham authorities have set up buffer zones near abortion clinics to make it illegal for people to engage in behavior that denies or approves abortion. This includes “graphic, oral or written means, prayer or counseling.”
The clip shows a woman standing quietly on the curb opposite an abortion clinic as British law enforcement officers approach her. and answer. She denies that she is participating in the protests.
A policeman asks, “Are you praying?” “Maybe I’m praying in my head,” she replies. The officer then asks her if she is willing to go to the station to question her behavior. He has been arrested,” he said, claiming he was indicted on “suspected failure to comply with a public space protection order.”
An Anglican priest, Reverend Calvin Robinson, condemned what he saw in the footage, stating: what have we become? Even under a conservative government. ”
Sohrab Ahmari, Catholic author and founder of Compact Magazine, tweeted, “OY YOU GO’ A LICENSE TO PRAY IN YOUR ‘EAD MA’AM?”
Pro-life advocate Emily Lalique writes: How can a person who prays be arrested? ”
Virginia Republican Rep. Nick Freitas took the opportunity to remind users of George Orwell’s dystopia, tweeting, “1984 was a warning, not a guide.”
As RedState Deputy Editor Brandon Morse points out:
Conservative commentator Lauren Chen said, “People are literally being arrested for thought crimes in the UK. Freedom of speech is not a Western value but a uniquely American one.”
Nile Gardiner, aide to the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, said, “This is appalling. It is a disgrace to see a woman arrested for just praying on the streets of England. This should not happen under the auspices of the country and the Home Secretary should take action to ensure that such scenes are not repeated.”
National Review staff writer Nate Hochman tweeted, “I’m sorry, but imagine not having the First Amendment.”
