Legal turning point in the UK as Army veteran found guilty of thoughtcrimes
By Rhoda Wilson on October 17, 2024
In a case that has raised concerns about freedom of thought, religion and expression, Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor has been at the centre of a controversy for almost two years surrounding his silent prayers within a “buffer zone” for an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, England.
Yesterday he was found guilty. This is a legal turning point in the UK where prayerful thoughts in someone’s mind are considered a criminal offence.
In October 2022, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council introduced a Public Spaces Protection Order (“PSPO”) in the vicinity of the BPAS abortion clinic in Ophir Road, Bournemouth. The Order designated a “safe zone” around the clinic, within which it is prohibited to engage in protest related to abortion services and other specified activities.
In November 2022, Smith-Connor was spotted behind a tree on a green in a public space about 50 metres from the entrance of the BPAS abortion clinic. He was approached by Catherine Brookfield, a council officer, and accused of engaging in an act of disapproval of the work of the abortion clinic.
She asked him to move on as he was within the buffer zone and acts of “prayer as disapproval” were prohibited by the Council’s PSPO. He refused as he said he was praying for his deceased son and for the women, men, and children still being impacted by abortion today. He is still haunted by the decision he and his then-partner made to abort their unborn child 24 years ago.
“You are telling me that silent prayer is banned in this area? I’m praying in my mind and not approaching anyone. I’m entitled to pray silently for my dead son in a free country,” he said.
He was warned more than once that he could face further action if he did not leave the buffer zone during their conversation, which, according to The Telegraph, lasted for more than 90 minutes.
To pay the fine, he believed, would be complicit with the erosion of these fundamental freedoms secured both in international and domestic law. It simply shouldn’t be illegal to pray anywhere in the UK.
Continues.
GUILTY: Army Vet convicted for praying silently near abortion facility
# How is this possibly Justice?
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