English police are investigating pro-life advocate Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for a third time, accusing her of violating “buffer zones” outside an abortion facility by silently praying despite the fact that she has been acquitted twice of the same charges.

According to a news release from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, Vaughan-Spruce only learned of the third investigation when she submitted a formal complaint to the West Midlands police force, stating that police repeatedly harass and interrogate her as she silently prays every week outside an abortion facility. She also reminded the police that courts and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have already declared that she cannot be charged with violating the buffer zone ordinance.

ADF International reported that the police denied her complaint due to the fact that the investigation against her is ongoing. She had not been informed of the new action against her.

“West Midlands Police have now confirmed that they await advice from CPS considering next steps on the allegations against Isabel,” ADF International stated. “CPS has previously decided that acts of standing silently in prayer do not meet its evidential and public interest thresholds to warrant prosecution.”

Zeale previously reported that the United Kingdom began officially enforcing 150-meter (around 500 feet) buffer zones around abortion facilities nationwide in October 2024. Two months earlier, Vaughan-Spruce had successfully challenged, for the second time, the accusations that she had violated the buffer zone ordinances in her area. In addition to overturning the charges, the ruling also required West Midlands police to pay £13,000.

While some, including the BBC, claimed that the October buffer zone ordinance would ban silent prayer, ADF International stated that the new guidance said that conduct which was not ‘overt’ would not be considered criminal activity.

“This is believed to be the first test of CPS guidance under the controversial national ‘buffer zone’ legislation,” ADF International stated in the release.

According to ADF International, Vaughan-Spruce said that it is “unbelievable that I am still being harassed by police for silently praying in that area, and yet again find myself under investigation for the same prayers I have said for twenty years.”

She added, “Silent prayer cannot possibly be a crime — everyone has the right to freedom of thought.”