Father and army veteran on trial for praying silently outside abortion clinic

“I am being criminally charged on the basis of my silent thoughts, in the privacy of my own mind.”

A father and Afghanistan veteran is facing charges in the United Kingdom for praying silently outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, England.

"It is unfathomable that in an apparently free society, I am being criminally charged on the basis of my silent thoughts, in the privacy of my own mind. It’s not different than being tried for a thoughtcrime,” said Adam Smith-Connor, who spent a mere three minutes praying in a “buffer zone” outside the facility.

Smith-Connor was, at the time, praying for his own deceased child who was killed in an abortion procedure several years ago. The bereaved father regrets paying for his ex-girlfriend to terminate the child.

At the time, he had his back turned to the facility so that he would not be mistaken for attempting to interact with anyone entering or leaving the clinic.

Chillingly, as can be seen in footage of his interaction with police, he was asked by officers “what is the nature of your prayer?” according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing him in his legal battles.

That’s right — in the nation that birthed the Magna Carta and was first to liberate human beings from the bonds of slavery, police officers now interrogate people as to the nature of their prayer, lest it be against the forces of wickedness at work inside abortion clinics.

During a previous encounter with police, Smith-Connor had conversely been told that, “this is England and it’s a public place and you’re entitled to do that.” 

 Earlier this month, Smith-Connor’s case was heard at the Poole Magistrates’ Court, the ADF noted at the start of the trial.

“In various other circumstances, the police and the courts have made it clear that silent prayer is not a criminal act. And yet, BCP Council, which has already conceded that presence is not in itself an offence, has introduced a rights-restricting censorship zone, which they now argue extends to a ban on silent prayer,” said Jeremiah Igunnubole, who is serving as counsel for ADF-UK.

“In permitting the prosecution of silent prayer, we are sailing into dangerous waters regarding human rights protections in the UK. Censorship zones are inherently wrong and engender unhelpful legal confusion regarding the right to free thought. Both domestic and international law have long established freedom of thought as an absolute right that must not ever be interfered with by the state,” he continued.

Igunnubole added that recent news reports have claimed that some Magistrates are considering classifying “silent prayer” as a crime under abortion clinic “buffer zone” laws, which are used to restrict activists from ministering outside facilities.

This would “not only be a legal error, it could open up the floodgates to human rights violations similar to those experienced by Adam Smith-Connor,” the lawyer emphasized.