Posted on 10/19/2024 9:34:38 AM PDT by Morgana
A British army veteran who served in Afghanistan was found guilty today of praying silently near an abortion clinic in England.
Adam Smith-Connor breached a Public Spaces Protection Order by this action, according to the ruling at Poole Magistrates Court in the town of Poole near Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The court gave Smith-Connor a conditional discharge, meaning he will be sentenced only if convicted of future offenses within the next two years.
“Today, the court has decided that certain thoughts — silent thoughts — can be illegal in the United Kingdom,” Smith-Connor said after the court ruling. “That cannot be right. All I did was pray to God, in the privacy of my own mind, and yet I stand convicted as a criminal?”
The court found Smith-Connor guilty for an act of a “disapproval of abortion,” though he was only thinking about his son, who had been aborted many years before, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.
Smith-Connor had slightly bowed his head and clasped his hands in prayer on a public green in a buffer zone near the abortion facility in Orphir Road, Bournemouth in November 2022. During a confrontation with police officers that he recorded, they asked him, “What is the nature of your prayer?”
The buffer zone had been previously legalized under a Public Spaces Protection Order enforced on streets near the abortion clinic. The intent of the buffer zone had been to stop pro-life beliefs being expressed near the facility, including offering help or prayers to women in crisis pregnancies, according to a press statement by ADF International.
Defense attorneys argued that Smith-Connor’s prayerful thoughts, beliefs and opinions were not a crime, especially as he stood peacefully and silently on a public street. He stood behind a tree, spoke to no one and had his back to the facility.
The court also ordered the father of two children to pay prosecution costs amounting to £9,000 ($11,700 USD).
Smith-Connor reflected on the court verdict given by a court representing the country he fought for as a soldier.
“I served for 20 years in the army reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, to protect the fundamental freedoms that this country is built upon,” he said. “I continue that spirit of service as a healthcare professional and church volunteer. It troubles me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to the extent that thought-crimes are now being prosecuted in the U.K.”
After the ruling, Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK, called the result a “legal turning point of immense proportions.”
“A man has been convicted today because of the content of his thoughts – his prayers to God – on the public streets of England,” Igunnubole said. “We can hardly sink any lower in our neglect of basic fundamental freedoms of free speech and thought.”
ADF International will look closely at the judgment and consider options for appeal, he said.
“Human rights are for all people – no matter their view on abortion,” Igunnubole said.
Sir Edward Leigh, “Father of the House of Commons,” meaning the most senior member of parliament, expressed outrage at the outcome.
“It is disgraceful that in Britain in 2024 someone can be put on trial for praying silently in his head,” Leigh said. “Unfortunately, we have seen repeated cases of free speech under threat in the U.K. when it comes to the expression of Christian beliefs. To offer a prayer silently in the depths of your heart cannot be an offense. The government must clarify urgently that freedom of thought is protected as a basic human right.”
ADF International stated that Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council spent £90,000 ($116,990 USD) prosecuting the former soldier for praying, which carried a maximum penalty of £1,000 ($1,300 USD).
Former U.K. Member of Parliament Miriam Cates reacted to funds spent on prosecution for praying.
“This isn’t ‘1984,’ but 2024. Nobody should be on trial for the mere thoughts they hold in their mind,” Cates said. “It’s outrageous that the local council are pouring taxpayer funding into prosecuting a thought-crime at a time where resources are stretched thin.”
Buffer zone regulations are disproportionately wide, leaving innocent people vulnerable to prosecution merely for offering help or simply holding their own beliefs, she said.
Five U.K. councils implement buffer zones near abortion clinics, and the recently elected Labour government has vowed to implement zones near abortion clinics across the country under the Public Order Act on Oct. 31. This move bans any attempt to “influence” a woman’s decision to access abortion services, according to ADF International.
Igunnubole noted the discrepancies for interpreting what “influence” means.
“We all influence each other’s decisions all the time — be it through the advice of a parent, the concern of a friend, or the information made available through a charitable volunteer,” he said. “But the Public Order Act is written so vaguely that these every day, peaceful, caring conversations could be made illegal on certain streets of England when it comes to discussing abortion.”
Igunnubole referred to international law protecting freedom of thought and speech, arguing these allowed consensual conversations or silent prayers.
“Yet the lack of clarity in the law could result in many more citizens, like Adam, being interrogated or even charged for simply directing silent thoughts towards God,” he said. “This is a watershed moment for British freedoms, and one the public must not take lightly.”
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of pro-life organization UK March for Life, recently received compensation after police officers arrested her for praying near an abortion clinic.
What is the most famous clause of the Magna Carta?
Of enduring importance to people appealing to the charter over the last 800 years are the famous clauses 39 and 40: “No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land.
Is this lawful judgement of the man’s peers and the law of the land? I don’t think so. When they try to tell me what I can pray about, what am I to do?
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK, called the result a “...legal turning point of immense proportions. A man has been convicted today because of the content of his thoughts – his prayers to God – on the public streets of England. We can hardly sink any lower in our neglect of basic fundamental freedoms of free speech and thought.”
I just sent this story to 16 people
Prayers 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🛐🛐🛐✝️✝️✝️
He was only thinking about his son, who had been aborted many years before.
One life murdered one life destroyed for a life time.
I fear our God has abandoned England.
They are calling for their own destruction now.
I know, it’s so preposterous to even imagine cops asking people what they are praying about.
I figure the guy willingly confessed knowing he would get cuffed. I suggest he wanted to force open the issue about the criminalization of people’s thoughts. But I could be wrong.
Hard to say, but I’d guess you are correct.
Not sure that’s correct.
wow. apparently the thought police are no longer a sci-fi concept.
time to cue cheap trick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPemyipJzAM
This is what happens when sexual perverts seize the government, cultural, and educational institutions of a country. Make no mistake a good many Democrats would applaud such a decision if it happened here.
An immoral people thrive under tyranny.
It is correct. Rights come from God, not some government decree or scrap of parchment. They’re inherent to all people everywhere.
What the British lack is a government that respects those inherent rights. They also lack the balls to reclaim them.
L
When prayer, even silent prayer, occurs outside the buffer zone, then we now have the "Thought Police" to determine illegality,
where no expression is allowed - not even silently !
That's a dystopian world condition that is even alien and supersedes the original Magna Carta concept of justice.
As I said......we are DOOMED!
You are correct that rights come from God and that they inhere.
However who determines those rights?
Under the Constitution it is We The People (theoretically). Not so for British subjects.
Jesus remained silent when He willed to do so, but then He is God.
We are also directed by the Apostle Paul to obey government. (Not sure of the parameters on that one.)
Who are the Brain Police?
Dang, Zappa should have lived to see this day. He saw it coming.
Yes they do. They need to be hit with devastating hail and brimstone. The same as Sodom and Gomorrah for the worship of Moloch.
He has not been the first individual for doing a “silent” prayer near a “Moloch Sacrificial Temple”. How they can tell what someone is saying silently is beyond me, but the idea of facing prison on that premise is scary and unfortunately it is starting to occur here with the FACE act. Definitely a sign we are in the End of Days and things are going to get worse for us.
(I fear our God has abandoned England.)
America is right behind if spirit of antichrist Kamala Harris gets in the highest office in the land
✝️🛐🙏
“ What is the nature of your prayer?”
“I was praying that your boyfriend gives you anal and oral syphilis, officer,” is the correct answer.
Sounds more like something out of a bad movie.
Britain is turning muslim. Wait and see what it's like in another generation - maybe less than that.
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