United Kingdom authorities arrested a pro-life woman praying outside an abortion clinic for allegedly breaking a temporary Public Space Protection Order on four separate occasions earlier this month.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a 45-year-old charity volunteer, was arrested and charged on four counts after she told police she “might” be silently praying near the U.K.’s leading provider of NHS-funded abortion services BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, according to local media.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) published footage earlier this week showing authorities approaching Vaughan-Spruce outside the clinic. During the interaction, authorities questioned why Vaughn Spruce was standing outside the abortion facility “of all places.”

“Are you standing here as part of a protest?” asked the officer.

“No, I’m not protesting,” Vaughan-Spruce said.

“Are you praying?” the police officer asked her.

“I might be praying in my head,” she replied.

ADF said authorities confronted the woman after receiving complaints from an observer who suspected that Vaughan-Spruce was praying silently in her mind.

Following her arrest, Vaughan-Spruce told ADF that it was “abhorrently wrong” that authorities searched, arrested, interrogated, and charged her “simply for praying in the privacy of my own mind.”

“Nobody should ever be subject to harassment,” she said. “But what I did was the furthest thing from harmful. I was exercising my freedom of thought, my freedom of religion, inside the privacy of my own mind.”

“Nobody should be criminalized for thinking and for praying in a public space in the U.K.,” Vaughan-Spruce added.

Police arrested Vaughan-Spruce on December 6 and subsequently charged her on December 15 with four counts of failing to comply with a Public Space Protection Order in so-called censorship zones, which authorities introduced to criminalize individuals appearing to be “engaging in any act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval.”

Such acts include “verbal or written means, prayer or counseling” in relation to abortion, according to ADF U.K.

Birmingham City Council officials enforced the order earlier this year, which local media reported bans explicitly protesting abortion outside clinics after members of the “40 Days For Life” anti-abortion group began repeatedly posting up outside the center.

Police said such protests reportedly led to verbal and physical confrontations.

Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF U.K. supporting Vaughan-Spruce, said, “Isabel’s experience should be deeply concerning to all those who believe that our hard-fought fundamental rights are worth protecting.”

“It is truly astonishing that the law has granted local authorities such wide and unaccountable discretion, that now even thoughts deemed ‘wrong’ can lead to a humiliating arrest and a criminal charge,” Igunnubole said.

The Daily Signal reported that Scottish communications officer for ADF U.K. Lois McLatchie said in a statement that “no citizen should be criminalized for legitimate, peaceful activity, even prayer.”

“Isabel’s case demonstrates just how far the state can go if we do not vigilantly guard fundamental rights and freedoms,” McLatchie said.

Vaughn-Spruce posted bail and will appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on February 2.

The arrest follows two other incidents within the last two years where local police told a praying woman in Southern England to leave despite standing outside the local censorship zone, and a grandmother from Liverpool was arrested and fined for praying silently near an abortion facility on a walk during COVID lockdown.

As members of the House of Representatives passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill one day before Christmas Eve, many appear to have done so from the comfort of their homes.

The 4,155-page piece of legislation would codify $858 billion in defense spending and nearly $773 billion for discretionary programs. There are 227 active proxy letters for Friday submitted by lawmakers who have designated a colleague to vote on their behalf, according to a report from the Washington Examiner, meaning that over half of the lower chamber utilized a rule intended for COVID-related absences to vote on the controversial piece of legislation.

The move likely occurs as lawmakers contend with winter weather and travel delays presenting difficulties to those visiting family ahead of Christmas.

Party leaders and members have faced criticism for allowing and participating in proxy voting. Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) drew backlash in 2020 for participating in a House Transportation Committee meeting from his boat, according to a report from the Arizona Republic. Rep. Kaialiʻi Kahele (D-HI) prompted an ethics investigation in May after he voted by proxy over 100 times; some of the votes were cast while he was giving a speech, as well as visiting a state park and a farm.

Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN) recently asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to end the rule. “Over the course of one hundred and fifteen sessions of Congress, this body convened in times of war, pandemics, and national crises alike to fulfill our constitutional duties,” he wrote. “Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two and a half years ago, essential workers, blue-collar employees, first responders, food and restaurant industries, and many more have shown up to work each and every day to do their job.”

The omnibus bill nevertheless passed the House on Friday with a 225-201 vote. President Joe Biden must sign the bill on Friday in order to avoid a government shutdown.

Senior lawmakers unveiled the text of the lengthy bill earlier this week; members of the Senate voted 70-25 on Tuesday to initiate debate and passed the legislation 68-29 on Thursday, with 18 Republicans joining their 50 Democrat-aligned colleagues in support of the package.

Among other provisions, the omnibus bill funds border security for foreign nations and offers contributions for LGBTQ pride centers. In addition to a nearly $45 billion aid package for Ukraine and other NATO members, the omnibus will fund the creation of a “Ukrainian Independence Park” in Washington D.C. Another section would designate a federal building in San Francisco as the “Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building,” while another would greenlight $3.6 million for a “Michelle Obama Trail” in Georgia.

As highlighted by Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), the bill provided $575 million for “family planning” in areas where population growth “threatens biodiversity.”

The omnibus package also contains a number of overhauls to the retirement system. Among the most significant changes is the automatic enrollment of employees in 401(k) programs for companies that offer matching benefits, according to a summary from the Senate Finance Committee. Workers would be required to enroll at a rate of 3% before contributions automatically increase by 1% each year until a 10% threshold is reached.