British man convicted of criminal charges for praying silently near an abortion clinic

In Britain, thinking the wrong thoughts in the wrong place can be a crime. It sounds absurd – not to mention Orwellian – but a handful of people have been arrested or charged in the country simply for praying silently near abortion clinics.

This month there was a Brit sentenced Criminal charges for silently praying near an abortion clinic. The man, Adam Smith-Connor, did not attempt to harass, intimidate or interact in any way with those who entered the clinic. Instead, he prayed wordlessly with his head slightly bowed. He wasn’t even on the clinic grounds – he was out of sight of the clinic itself, after to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a religious freedom group.

As a result, Smith-Connor was questioned by police and later charged with breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), a broad censorship order issued by police Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Under this law, local authorities can obtain special status for some public places, allowing them to prohibit a wide range of behavior. Under the guise of curbing “anti-social behaviour”, British cities have brought in PSPOs to ban homeless people from entering sleep outside or to ban Curse.

Several cities have used this law to establish “buffer zones” around local abortion clinics. The PSPO In Smith-Connor’s case, not only was there a ban on “intimidation or harassment” of those who worked at or received services from the clinic, but individuals were also banned from engaging in “prayer.”[sprinkling] Holy water on the floor” and “[crossing] himself.”

Smith-Connor violated this order in November 2022. He was convicted and sentenced earlier this month to a “conditional discharge” – similar to probation – and ordered to pay about $11,709 in criminal fees, according to the ADF.

The court’s reasoning betrayed the absurdly censorious nature of the local law. “In its decision, the court concluded that his prayer amounted to ‘disapproval of abortion’ because at one point his head was seen slightly bowed and his hands folded.” after to the ADF.

“He could be seen, he was praying and it would have been noticeable to an observer,” said Judge Orla Austin. The Telegraph reported. “He said he wouldn’t look at anyone so that his privacy wouldn’t be invaded, but I think his presence and the circumstances could have damaging effects.”

Smith-Connor is far from the first Briton to face legal consequences for silently praying near an abortion clinic. In 2022, a woman was in Birmingham, England arrested for silent prayer in front of an abortion clinic. That same year, a priest was criminally charged for holding a sign reading “Pray for Free Speech” near an abortion clinic, even though that sign had nothing to do with abortion rights.