Court issues ‘shock ruling’ against UK military vet who prayed silently in abortion buffer zone

In what his attorneys are calling a “shock ruling,” United Kingdom military veteran and father, Adam Smith-Connor, was found guilty last week of silent prayer in an abortion facility buffer zone. He was convicted of violating a modified provision of a 2014 “Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act,” which prohibits “​​Protesting, namely engaging in an act of… disapproval… with respect to… abortion services, by any means. This includes but is not limited to graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling.”  

After a September 2024 trial, a Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court ruled on October 16 that Smith-Connor was guilty of breaching a “safe zone” order around an abortion facility in the southwest English county of Dorset. The order and underlying law have been widely condemned as a violation of religious freedom and enforcement of a “thought crime.”

On November 24, 2022, Smith-Connor approached the Bournemouth abortion facility, stood behind a tree over 50 feet from the abortion facility, faced away from the building, and prayed silently in memory of his unborn son whose abortion he encouraged years before. When an officer questioned him, Smith-Connor told him he was “just standing praying.” 

READ: UK pro-life activist awarded £13k after repeated arrests for silent prayer

ADF International said the court determined that Smith-Connor exhibited “disapproval of abortion” because “at one point his head was seen slightly bowed and his hands were clasped.” In its press release, ADF noted, “Today, the court has decided that certain thoughts — silent thoughts — can be illegal in the United Kingdom. That cannot be right.”

Smith-Connor added “All I did was pray to God, in the privacy of my own mind — and yet I stand convicted as a criminal?”

The Bournemouth zone restricting disapproval of abortion encompasses about 3,000,000 square feet. It includes numerous households and businesses around a British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) facility. According to their website, BPAS “exists to provide a trailblazing, world leading abortion service, and to campaign for and deliver reproductive choice.”

A 2024 annual report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has previously condemned similar prosecutions as “targeting individuals for their peaceful religious expression.”

Despite being couched solely as a women’s issue, men often experience true regret for abortion. The testimonies of many men who regret participating in abortion have been catalogued by Live Action’s Can’t Stay Silent website.

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