{"id":296136,"date":"2023-08-09T16:29:30","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T21:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=296136"},"modified":"2023-08-09T12:05:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T17:05:34","slug":"uk-man-criminal-charges-silent-prayer-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/uk-man-criminal-charges-silent-prayer-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite statutory time limit, UK charges man for silent prayer at abortion facility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Adam Smith-Connor, a man who says he lost his son to abortion, is facing criminal charges in the United Kingdom in an unexpected turn of events<\/a> following his decision to pray outside of a clinic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) UK, which is representing Smith-Connor, <\/span>said last month<\/span><\/a> that he was in the clear given that authorities hadn\u2019t pursued prosecution within what the law firm said was the statutory time limit. He\u2019s expected to enter a not guilty plea at his hearing on August 9.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the Council being legally required to notify Smith-Connor of the summons as soon as possible, they did not do so, nor did they engage in any other form of communication with him until 19th July 2023 \u2013 eight weeks after the elapse of the statutory time-limit for charging him, and almost ten weeks after the charge was issued,\u201d an ADF UK release from last week reads.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith-Connor received a fine in December of 2022 for allegedly violating a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in Bournemouth. Purported <\/span>video<\/span><\/a> of his encounter with police shows an officer noting that the PSPO mentions prayer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n