The Telegraph is reporting that the ‘cash-strapped council’ of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) spent nearly £150,000 (nearly $194,000 USD) to prosecute pro-life individuals for silently praying outside of an abortion facility. What makes this expenditure even more odd is that the council also discussed a possible need to turn off street lights to save money.

Pro-lifers Adam Smith-Connor and Livia Tossici-Bolt were both arrested and prosecuted for silently standing within a Bournemouth British Pregnancy Advisory Services (BPAS) abortion facility’s ‘buffer zone.’

Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old army veteran who served in Afghanistan, refused to leave a 100-meter area surrounding the BPAS facility in October, stating that he was praying silently for his preborn son — a child who was aborted 25 years ago. He was found guilty of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), received a two-year conditional discharge, and was ordered to pay £9,000 (over $11,600 USD) — about a tenth of the amount the case cost the council, £93,000 (over $120,000 USD).

READ: No, silent prayer is not ‘reproductive coercion’ just because someone questions the motive

Tossici-Bolt, age 64, was silently holding up a sign that said, “Here to talk,” at the same BPAS facility in March 2023. It cost the council £45,000 to prosecute the retired medical scientist in a two-day trial. The verdict is expected on April 4.

The BCP council has been facing financial pressure, said The Telegraph. In 2023, BCP council members discussed turning off street lights, closing children’s splash parks, reducing the number of hours the libraries were open, and eliminating school crossing guards to save money. In 2024, it apparently struggled with a £44 million (nearly $57M USD) funding gap.

“It’s grossly disproportionate for BCP council to have spent nearly £150,000 to prosecute two Christians of good character, for a summary only Magistrates’ Court matter with a maximum sentence of £1000,” said ADF UK legal counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole. “In a free country, citizens shouldn’t have to prepare a budget to defend the peaceful exercise of fundamental rights.”

The BPAS facility has been the focus of pro-life efforts for years, so the council enacted a PSPO in 2022, and in October, a new law was introduced to create a “safe access zone” around abortion businesses. Those zones made it an offense for anyone to do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences a person’s decision to have an abortion. That includes obstructing them, harassing them, or causing distress to women seeking abortion or the abortion facility employees.

Abortion Doctors Share How The Most Common Abortion Procedures Take Place

“Adam Smith-Connor merely prayed silently for three minutes,” said Igunnubole. “And Livia Tossici-Bolt simply offered to talk. Far from amounting to ‘harassment and intimidation’, both are peaceful, lawful activities that should be able to take place on any public street in Great Britain. The council’s ideological drive is clear, that they would charge the public purse such exorbitant costs to criminalise particular views.”

The Telegraph is reporting that the ‘cash-strapped council’ of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) spent nearly £150,000 (nearly $194,000 USD) to prosecute pro-life individuals for silently praying outside of an abortion facility. What makes this expenditure even more odd is that the council also discussed a possible need to turn off street lights to save money.

Pro-lifers Adam Smith-Connor and Livia Tossici-Bolt were both arrested and prosecuted for silently standing within a Bournemouth British Pregnancy Advisory Services (BPAS) abortion facility’s ‘buffer zone.’

Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old army veteran who served in Afghanistan, refused to leave a 100-meter area surrounding the BPAS facility in October, stating that he was praying silently for his preborn son — a child who was aborted 25 years ago. He was found guilty of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), received a two-year conditional discharge, and was ordered to pay £9,000 (over $11,600 USD) — about a tenth of the amount the case cost the council, £93,000 (over $120,000 USD).

READ: No, silent prayer is not ‘reproductive coercion’ just because someone questions the motive

Tossici-Bolt, age 64, was silently holding up a sign that said, “Here to talk,” at the same BPAS facility in March 2023. It cost the council £45,000 to prosecute the retired medical scientist in a two-day trial. The verdict is expected on April 4.

The BCP council has been facing financial pressure, said The Telegraph. In 2023, BCP council members discussed turning off street lights, closing children’s splash parks, reducing the number of hours the libraries were open, and eliminating school crossing guards to save money. In 2024, it apparently struggled with a £44 million (nearly $57M USD) funding gap.

“It’s grossly disproportionate for BCP council to have spent nearly £150,000 to prosecute two Christians of good character, for a summary only Magistrates’ Court matter with a maximum sentence of £1000,” said ADF UK legal counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole. “In a free country, citizens shouldn’t have to prepare a budget to defend the peaceful exercise of fundamental rights.”

The BPAS facility has been the focus of pro-life efforts for years, so the council enacted a PSPO in 2022, and in October, a new law was introduced to create a “safe access zone” around abortion businesses. Those zones made it an offense for anyone to do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences a person’s decision to have an abortion. That includes obstructing them, harassing them, or causing distress to women seeking abortion or the abortion facility employees.

Abortion Doctors Share How The Most Common Abortion Procedures Take Place

“Adam Smith-Connor merely prayed silently for three minutes,” said Igunnubole. “And Livia Tossici-Bolt simply offered to talk. Far from amounting to ‘harassment and intimidation’, both are peaceful, lawful activities that should be able to take place on any public street in Great Britain. The council’s ideological drive is clear, that they would charge the public purse such exorbitant costs to criminalise particular views.”