British authorities agreed not to criminally charge an Army veteran after he was fined for praying silently outside an abortion facility earlier this year, his lawyers said this week.
Adam Smith-Connor, a post-abortive father, is one of three pro-life advocates who has been fined or criminally charged recently for the “thought crime” of silent prayer near an abortion facility. A similar case involving Isabel Vaughan-Spruce prompted international outrage in December.
On Tuesday, Alliance Defending Freedom UK shared good news in Smith-Connor’s case: He will not be charged, Christian Today reports.
“I’m glad that, in my case, common-sense policing won the day. However, it’s not right that I had to wait anxiously for a full six months for the authorities to determine my fate. The process, in essence, became my punishment,” Smith-Connor said. “I served in Afghanistan to defend democratic freedom – and yet, we see this encroachment on fundamental rights on the streets of Britain today.”
In January, Smith-Connor was praying near an abortion facility in Bournemouth when community safety officers questioned him about his activities, according to the report.
A video of their interaction, shared by Alliance Defending Freedom, shows one officer telling Smith-Connor that he is allowed to pray silently in public places.
Get the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter. Follow @LifeNewsHQ
“This is England, and it’s a public place and you’re entitled to do that,” the officer says in the video.
Later, however, the local city council fined Smith-Connor anyway, allegedly for violating a new city Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). The ordinance, which passed in October, prohibits prayer, counseling and other actions of “approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means,” according to Christian Today.
Smith-Connor also was threatened with criminal charges.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom UK, said the only reason the Army veteran was punished is because he prayed for unborn babies and mothers to be spared from abortion.
“Were another person engaged in silent thought about another issue, such as climate change, within the PSPO censorship zone, then the Council officials would not have required them to leave,” Igunnubole said. “Adam was discriminated against in comparison to another person in an analogous situation based on his core faith-based beliefs.”
Igunnubole celebrated the news that Smith-Connor will not face charges, but he said Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and Father Sean Gough still are slated for trial – just for “praying silently in their minds near an abortion facility.”
“The criminalisation of these volunteers should be a wake-up call to all those who value freedom of expression – even freedom of thought – no matter their views on abortion,” he said.
The crackdown on free speech in England is causing alarm worldwide. In December, a video showing Vaughan-Spruce’s arrest for silently praying outside an abortion facility in Birmingham went viral, attracting millions of views.
Ignoring the outrage, however, Parliament voted in March to create censorship zones outside abortion facilities all across England and Wales. MPs also rejected an amendment that would have specified that silent prayer and consensual conversations are allowed.
In Smith-Connor’s case, he knows all too well the pain and regret of abortion. He said he went to the abortion facility in January to pray for his son who was aborted more than 20 years ago. He said he also prays for mothers, fathers and unborn babies to be spared from abortion.
“It’s unthinkable that I was issued a penalty simply for praying about my own experience of abortion – having paid for my ex-girlfriend to have one – and my son, Jacob, whom I lost. The decision I made all those years ago now grieves me deeply,” he said.
