British Army Veteran Convicted of Praying Silently Near Abortion Clinic

CNA Staff, October 16, 2024 / 5:10 pm

A British army veteran and Christian has been found guilty of silently praying outside an abortion clinic, with the pro-life advocate facing a fine of nearly $12,000 for the verdict.

Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday found Adam Smith-Connor guilty of silent prayer arising from a demonstration he led in Bournemouth in 2022.

The court “sentenced Smith-Connor to a conditional discharge and ordered him to pay legal costs of £9,000” (about $11,700), Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International said in a press release Wednesday.

The conditional discharge stipulates that Smith-Connor “will only be sentenced if he is convicted of any future crimes within the next two years,” ADF International said.

Smith-Connor had approached a British Pregnancy Advisory Service abortion facility in Bournemouth, in the county of Dorset in southwest England, in November 2022. He intended to pray for his unborn child, who died in an abortion he helped with. to be carried out in a similar installation. than two decades ago.

He was initially fined for the prayer rally before authorities filed criminal charges against him.

In its ruling this week, the court ruled that Smith-Connor’s display outside the abortion clinic amounted to “disapproval of abortion” because “at one point her head was seen slightly bowed and her hands were clasped together,” according to with ADF International.

“Today the court ruled that certain thoughts – silent thoughts – can be illegal in the UK. This cannot be right,” Smith-Connor said in the law group’s press release.

“All I did was pray to God, in the privacy of my mind – and yet I was convicted as a criminal?”

“I served for 20 years in the Army Reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, to protect the fundamental freedoms upon which this country is built,” he said.

“I continue this spirit of service as a healthcare professional and church volunteer. It bothers me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to such an extent that thought crimes are now being prosecuted in the UK.”

Jeremiah Igunnubole, lawyer at ADF UK, called the decision “a legal turning point of immense proportions”.

“A man was sentenced today because of the content of his thoughts – his prayers to God – on the public streets of England,” he said. “We can hardly sink further into our neglect of basic fundamental freedoms of speech and thought.”

The legal group is considering an appeal, Igunnubole said.

This is not the only case of British authorities arresting a pro-life advocate for praying outside an abortion clinic.

(Story continues below)

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Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested in December 2022 after silently praying outside a Birmingham abortion clinic.

She was arrested again in March 2023 on similar charges. The charges were eventually dropped and she received an apology from the police for the incident; she still received 13,000 pounds (about US$16,800) from the police for the arrests.

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have condemned recent legislation regarding prayer outside abortion clinics, arguing that the proposal represents a setback for civic and religious freedom.

Under the Public Order Act, from October 31, buffer zones will be introduced around abortion facilities across England and Wales, constituting a distance of 150 meters (almost 500 feet) from “any part from an abortion clinic or any access point to any building.” or website that contains an abortion clinic.”