British man warns state will prosecute ‘thought crimes’ after silent prayer charge: ‘Horrible implications’

A British army veteran recently convicted of expressing ‘disapproval of abortion’ with a silent prayer in an abortion buffer zone worries that his case is just the beginning of an alarming trend of punishing ‘thoughts’ around the world. United Kingdom.

“I think this has horrific, frankly horrific implications for England. The idea that the state has enabled itself to peer into people’s minds and criminalize your thoughts – that should terrify every freedom-loving Englishman,” Adam Smith-Connor told Fox News. Digital.

The father-of-two, a physiotherapist and veteran of 20 years in the British Army, was found guilty of breaching the local authority’s Public Spaces Protection Order in October after standing outside an abortion clinic almost two years ago with his head bowed in silence. prayer. Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court sentenced him to a conditional discharge and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £9,000 (or almost $12,000), according to Alliance Defending Freedom “ADF” UK.

“We will appeal this verdict because no one in Britain should be criminalized for their thoughts,” ADF UK spokesperson Lois McLatchie Miller said. Fox News digital.

Adam Smith-Connor is facing criminal charges for praying silently in a ‘buffer zone’ outside a British abortion clinic. (Courtesy of ADF International)

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Video captured That day, city officials can be seen approaching Smith-Connor and examining him to reveal the “nature of (his) prayer.” After revealing that he was praying for his “deceased son,” he was warned that his prayer was considered an act of “disapproval of abortion” and thus violated the buffer zone law.

Smith-Connor told Fox News Digital that he often prays outside clinics for people considering abortion, as well as for his son, whom he paid to have aborted more than two decades ago.

On the day in question, Smith-Connor said his back was turned to the building and he had not looked at or spoken to anyone before officers arrived. He was surprised by what happened because just the week before After this incident, local authorities assured him that he could pray outside another abortion clinic.

From October 31, 2024, abortion buffer zones will be enforced across Britain, making it a crime to influence someone to prevent access to an abortion facility. (AP)

He said the ruling should alarm anyone concerned about the protection of freedom of speech in Britain and across the West.

“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice. You know, the abortion issue is really a side issue here. This is really a freedom issue. then each of us is in trouble because today you may agree with the government, but in the future there might be a government that you disagree with. But once you establish that thought it is crime something. Then there’s no stopping what they can do,” he told Fox News Digital.

“It surprised a lot of people in the UK because it’s 2024 and not 1984,” McLatchie Miller added on Fox News Digital.

This month, Adam Smith-Connor was convicted of praying silently near an abortion clinic and ordered to pay prosecution costs of about $12,000. (ADF international)

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Smith-Connor’s conviction comes as Britain rolls out an additional penalty buffer zones across England and Wales this week, after legislation is passed in 2023.

The zones, which extend to a radius of 500 feet, make it a crime to “intentionally or recklessly” influence a person’s decision and hinder access to an abortion facility. according to Reuters.

McLatchie Miller said the law’s “vague” language about “influence” could amount to punishing people for having peaceful conversations on the street or punishing someone for their thoughts, as in Smith-Connor’s case.

“We don’t know at this time if that will apply to silent stops like Adam experienced, or to volunteers handing out or discussing options with women experiencing crisis pregnancies. But the wording of the legislation, ‘influence’, is so vague that it could very well be applied subjectively to punish people simply for the thoughts they have in their heads, or the helpful conversations, consensual conversations they have on the street feed. So I think we’re in for a lot more of this kind of thing in Britain,” McLatchie Miller told Fox News Digital.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, where she is accused along with Father Sean Gough, a Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Birmingham, of protesting outside an abortion clinic in a censorship zone of an abortion facility in Birmingham. Date of photo: Thursday, February 16, 2023. (Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

The ruling against Smith-Connor comes after another British Christian won a court case in August after being arrested for her silent protest against abortion.

The British woman who was arrested for praying silently outside an abortion facility, received a £13,000 (approximately $17,000 USD) payout from the West Midlands Police in Birmingham, England, after filing a claim accusing them of false imprisonment, assault and unlawful arrest.

Fox News’ Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

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