A British army veteran who served in Afghanistan has been convicted of silently praying near an abortion clinic in England.
Adam Smith-Connor breached a Public Spaces Protection Order by engaging in prayer, according to the ruling at Poole Magistrates Court in Poole, near Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The court imposed a conditional discharge on Smith-Connor, meaning he will only face sentencing if convicted of further offenses within the next two years.
Smith-Connor expressed his disbelief, “Today, the court has decided that certain thoughts — silent thoughts — can be illegal in the United Kingdom. That cannot be right. All I did was pray to God, in the privacy of my own mind, and yet I stand convicted as a criminal?”
The court found him guilty of expressing “disapproval of abortion,” although Smith-Connor was reportedly only reflecting on his son, who had been aborted many years earlier, as noted by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.
The incident occurred in November 2022 when Smith-Connor slightly bowed his head and clasped his hands in prayer on a designated buffer zone near the abortion facility on Orphir Road in Bournemouth. During the confrontation with police officers, he was asked, “What is the nature of your prayer?”
The buffer zone is legally designated as a public space to prevent pro-life expressions, including support or prayers directed at women in crisis pregnancies. ADF attorneys contended that Smith-Connor’s prayerful thoughts and beliefs were not criminal actions, especially since he was silently standing behind a tree on a public road, not speaking to anyone, and facing away from the facility.
In addition to the ruling, the court ordered Smith-Connor, a father of two, to pay prosecution costs totaling £9,000 ($11,700 USD).
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK, remarked, “A man has been convicted today because of the content of his thoughts – his prayers to God – on the public streets of England. We can hardly sink any lower in our neglect of basic fundamental freedoms of free speech and thought.” He further asserted, “Human rights are for all people – no matter their view on abortion.”
ADF International reported that the plaintiff, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council spent £90,000 ($116,990 USD) prosecuting Smith-Connor for praying, which carried a maximum penalty of £1,000 ($1,300 USD).
Currently, five U.K. councils have implemented buffer zones around abortion clinics, and the newly elected Labour government has pledged to establish similar zones across the country under the Public Order Act starting October 31. This legislation bans any attempts to “influence” women’s decisions regarding accessing abortion services.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of the pro-life organization UK March for Life, recently received compensation after police officers arrested her for praying near an abortion clinic.
