UK pro-life campaigners press ahead with prayer vigils as court verdict looms
Saturday, 22 March 2025 ()
Volunteers pray at a vigil at an abortion clinic in Ealing, West London, the site of the first “buffer zone” in the U.K. They are restricted by law from being closer than 500 meters (about 1,600 feet) to the clinic, more than the 150 meters (500 feet) imposed by the nationwide law in October 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of 40 Days for Life International
London, England, Mar 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Across the United Kingdom this Lent, vigils outside abortion clinics have continued despite government attempts to stop their work of prayer for the unborn and offering of support to women with a crisis pregnancy.
A total of 11 vigils in 10 cities across the United Kingdom are going ahead throughout Lent through the 40 Days for Life campaign, a similar number to what have taken place annually since the first U.K. vigil was held in 2009. This year they stretch from Glasgow in Scotland to Bournemouth on the southern coast of England.
Volunteers for the campaign now agree to stay outside the minimum 150-meter (almost 500-foot) “buffer zone” that now surrounds all U.K. abortion centers. Within these areas, “influencing” people who attend the clinics has been illegal since Oct. 31, 2024.
There have been a number of high-profile cases where pro-life activists acting on their own initiative have stood silently praying within a buffer zone and have been arrested or prosecuted.
Although these measures have reduced the number of volunteers at some vigils this Lent — and the increased distance of the vigils from the clinics has decreased the number of women offered support — they have also increased the resolve of some volunteers.
“The more we are attacked and the more challenges we face, the more motivated I am to engage in pro-life work,” said Sarah Bignell, who leads the 40 Days for Life campaign in Ealing, West London.
As the vigils take place, retired scientist Livia Tossici-Bolt awaits a verdict from Poole Magistrates Court for allegedly breaching a buffer zone in Bournemouth. She stood quietly and held a sign that read “Here to talk, if you want,” which led to several “consensual conversations.” She was issued a fine for these actions but refused to pay, leading to the court case.
This is the same court where health care worker and veteran Adam Smith-Connor was convicted last year for silent prayers — a case raised by U.S. Vice President JD Vance in February at the Munich Security Conference as an example of restrictions on freedom in Europe.
One of the vigil leaders is Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a longtime pro-life activist in the U.K. She has been arrested twice for merely standing silently within a “buffer zone,” although she received a 13,000 pounds (approximately $17,000) compensation payment for wrongful arrest. Videos of her interactions with police on these occasions have gone viral on social media.
Isabel Spruce-Vaughn was arrested twice for praying outside abortion clinics. Credit:ADF UK
As a leader for the 40 Days for Life vigil in Birmingham in the Midlands, she stays outside the buffer zones.
“We haven’t had any reaction from the authorities and have had a smooth start to the campaign here in Birmingham,” Vaughan-Spruce told CNA. “Our kickoff event went really well with a fantastic turnout — the hall was packed full and standing room only, which was very encouraging.” She said local priests, seminarians, and Christian volunteers from different denominations have joined in the vigils this year.
Vaughan-Spruce said women are responding to signs offering help, and volunteers have even seen cars drive up to the clinic, turn around, and drive away again.
In Ealing, where the first “buffer zone” was imposed around a Marie Stopes clinic in 2018, volunteer numbers have fallen, which is blamed on COVID and then the mistaken belief that the vigils are now illegal.
“The frankly ridiculous ban on prayer and an offer of help hinders us, in that we are so far away from the abortion centers we obviously meet less women and therefore can offer less help,” said Clare McCullough, the director of U.K. pregnancy support charity the Good Counsel Network, which supports the two vigils in London. “However, God is at work during 40 Days for Life especially, because of all the prayer and fasting around the world, and we still see women choosing life.”
When those at the vigils do get the opportunity to talk with women, they find that the women are often unaware what support is available to help them raise a child. The Ealing vigil helped a woman who believed her asylum claim would be rejected unless she had an abortion. McCullough said her organization offers financial support, help with child care, and “lots of moral support.”
Far from being discouraged by government pressure, volunteers describe being encouraged by evidence that their prayers influence the women to choose life.
For example, one woman approached a volunteer and said she had felt a strong urge to reject abortion when inside the clinic after a friend sent her a picture of an unborn baby.
“God is working through our prayers when we couldn’t be there,” Bignell said. “Many women chose to accept help offered at the vigils, even 500 meters up the road.”
Leaders are upbeat and hopeful that their work to prevent abortions will succeed in the long run.
“The more crazy the law gets, the more media coverage we get,” said Robert Colquhoun, who leads the 40 Days for Life international campaigns. “This has impacted the consciences of millions of people ... we have stories of people who have changed their minds.”
“Living in this Orwellian craziness … we just keep calm and carry on. At some point there will be change.”
Buffer zones are not the only means by which authorities are putting pressure on pro-life activists in the U.K. In February, nursing student Sara Spencer was removed from her midwifery training course in Scotland for merely expressing pro-life views online.
“The level of attacks we get seem like a disproportionate response, compared to our vigils — we are just a small group of volunteers with rosary beads and leaflets offering help,” Bignell said. “And yet we have had the media, abortion providers, and Parliament enacting laws against us. This is why it is apparent this is a spiritual battle that we are involved in.”
In 2022 there were 251,377 abortions in England and Wales according to official statistics, a sharp increase compared with the previous year. The upcoming release of 2023 numbers is expected to be higher.
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