An army reservist who was prosecuted for praying silently in an abortion clinic buffer zone has appealed to the UK to get up for fundamental freedoms at home in addition to overseas.
Adam Smith-Connor was ordered by Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court to pay £9,000 in legal costs for breaching the “buffer zone”.
In a special message shared on Remembrance Sunday through the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF UK), which is supporting him, the father-of-two said he was still “in disbelief” that he was convicted in a ruling that effectively makes silent thoughts against the law.
“For 20 years, I proudly served our country as an Army Reservist—including a tour of Afghanistan—and I proceed to serve my community today as a physiotherapist and a volunteer at my local church,” he said.
“But I never imagined that the country I like—a nation that has given me a lot—could turn against me for something so simple as offering a silent prayer concerning my late, unborn son.”
Abortion clinic ‘protected access zones’ were rolled out across England and Wales last month, imposing a 150-metre boundary around all clinics and hospitals offering abortion services.
Under the brand new regulations, it’s a criminal offence “to intentionally or recklessly influence any person’s decision to access or facilitate abortion services at an abortion clinic” or “cause harassment, alarm or distress” to people accessing the facilities.
People handing out leaflets, protesting against abortion rights, praying silently or holding vigils could all fall throughout the scope of the brand new laws. The Crown Prosecution Service has said in guidance that prosecutors need to contemplate each case individually and show that there was “intent” or “recklessness” within the activities. Being found guilty of breaching the buffer zones risks a vast nice.
Smith-Connor said Britain had reached the purpose of criminalising silent prayer since it has “forgotten the core principles upon which our nation was built”.
He said that Christians “must respectfully and firmly hold the Government to account”.
“Remembrance Sunday is a day of collective commemoration and gratitude, a reminder of the freedoms we’ve today because of the courage of those that served our nation. But now I query if those freedoms are truly honoured,” he said.
“God gives us our inalienable rights and freedoms, and it is the Government’s job to uphold them, not suppress them.
“How can we ask British troops to place their lives in danger defending freedom abroad while, at home, we’re fining, arresting and imprisoning people for a thoughtcrime of silent prayer?”
