Isabel Vaughan Spruce, charged for standing and silently praying outside an abortion facility, has pleaded not guilty to fresh charges on October 7, as her legal team has argued she has been “singled out”. Her criminal trial has been set for January 25 to 29, 2027.
Vaughan-Spruce was the first person to have been criminally charged under national buffer zone legislation and pleaded not guilty in January. The legislation, which came into force in October 2024, prohibits “influencing any person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” within 150m of abortion facilities.
