Trial begins for UK pro-lifer and veteran arrested for silent prayer in censorship zone

The trial for Adam Smith-Cooper, a family man and veteran, began in the UK last week; he faces prosecution for silently praying outside of an abortion facility. According to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), over the three days of testimony at Poole Magistrates’ Court this week, “we’ve witnessed history — a real-life thought crime prosecution.”

Paul Coleman reported for ADF (emphasis added):

The prosecution argued that Adam’s known views on abortion combined with his admitted thoughts and silent prayers relating to abortion should be enough to secure a criminal conviction. And think about the consequences if such a prosecution succeeds. Imagine a scenario where the silent thoughts and prayers in your head can be successfully prosecuted by the state. That is why this case is so important — not just for Adam and his family — but for anyone who believes in freedom. For anyone who does not wish to live in a totalitarian state.

Smith-Connor, who once assisted in abortions as part of his army medical training, was arrested in January of 2023 and fined for silently praying in a censorship zone in the coastal town of Bournemouth. His back was to the abortion business, but “community safety accredited officers” approached him simply because he was considered to have violated a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). Smith-Connor told police he was praying for his own son, who had died by abortion 22 years earlier.

Regardless, the officers told him he was “in breach of clause 4a…” PSPOs give local authorities the power to “ban specific acts in a designated geographical area in England and Wales.” Clause 4a states:

A public spaces protection order is an order that identifies the public place referred to in subsection (2) (“the restricted area”) and—

(a)prohibits specified things being done in the restricted area

On October 13, 2022, a PSPO was used to enforce a “buffer zone,” criminalizing an “act” or “attempted act” of “approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means. This includes but is not limited to graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling” in the designated area outside of an abortion business.

It also bans the reading of scripture or even making the Sign of the Cross.

“[Twenty-two] years ago I drove my ex-girlfriend to a facility and paid for her to have an abortion. It was a pivotal moment in my life,” Smith-Connor said in a press release in 2023. “The consequences of my actions that day came back to grieve me years later, when I realized I had lost my son Jacob to an abortion I had paid for. Recently, I stood outside a similar facility and prayed to God for my son Jacob, for other babies who have lost their lives to abortion, for their grieving families, and for abortion clinic staff.”

The verdict in Smith-Connor’s trial is expected next month.

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