SW News: The charges against a 45-year-old British woman who was detained after telling police she "may" be silently praying outside an abortion clinic have been dropped, but her legal team warns that they may yet be brought back.

Following her detention on December 6 and subsequent charges of violating an exclusion zone outside an abortion facility in Birmingham, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was charged on December 15 with four counts of failing to comply with a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

Vaughan-Spruce is the leader of the anti-abortion group 40 Days for Life Birmingham. The group claims that volunteers hold no posters, banners, or placards and never use megaphones.

Police allegedly asked Vaughan-Spruce if she was praying at the time. After claiming that she might be "silently in her head," she was taken into custody. Vaughan-Spruce was due in court on Wednesday at Birmingham Magistrates Court but charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for lack of sufficient evidence. Though it dropped the charges, CPS said that they could be reinstated and prosecuted at a later date. Prosecutors might use this as a warning when they anticipate receiving more evidence.

Vaughan-Spruce has declared her determination to seek justice in court because she is dedicated to defending her acts and to continuing her voluntary work for many years without fear of being prosecuted.

"It can’t be right that I was arrested and made a criminal, only for praying in my head on a public street. So-called buffer zone legislation will result in so many more people like me, doing good and legal activities like offering charitable support to women in crisis pregnancies, or simply praying in their heads, being treated like criminals and even facing court. It’s important to me that I can continue my vital work in supporting women who’d like to avoid abortion if they only had some help. In order to do so, it’s vital that I have clarity as to my legal status. Many of us need an answer as to whether it’s still lawful to pray silently in our own heads. That’s why I’ll be pursuing a verdict regarding my charges in court,” she noted in a statement provided by her legal counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) UK.