{"id":320627,"date":"2024-10-23T06:49:34","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T11:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=320627"},"modified":"2024-10-22T15:35:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T20:35:18","slug":"court-ruling-uk-vet-prayed-abortion-silently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/court-ruling-uk-vet-prayed-abortion-silently\/","title":{"rendered":"Court issues ‘shock ruling’ against UK military vet who prayed silently in abortion buffer zone"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

In what his attorneys are calling a “shock ruling<\/a>,” United Kingdom military veteran and father, Adam Smith-Connor, was found guilty last week of silent prayer in an abortion facility buffer zone. He was convicted of violating a modified provision of a 2014 \u201cAnti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act,\u201d which <\/span>prohibits<\/span><\/a> \u201c\u200b\u200bProtesting, namely engaging in an act of… disapproval… with respect to… abortion services, by any means. This includes but is not limited to graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a <\/span>September 2024 trial<\/span><\/a>, a Bournemouth Magistrates\u2019 Court ruled on October 16 that Smith-Connor was guilty of <\/span>breaching a \u201c<\/span>safe zone<\/span><\/a>\u201d order around an abortion facility in the southwest English county of Dorset.\u00a0<\/span>The<\/span> order and underlying law have <\/span>been <\/span>widely condemned<\/span><\/a> as a violation of religious freedom and enforcement of a \u201c<\/span>thought crime<\/span><\/a>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

On November 24, 2022, Smith-Connor approached the Bournemouth abortion facility, stood behind a tree over 50 feet from the abortion facility, faced away from the building, and prayed silently in memory of his unborn son whose abortion he <\/span>encouraged<\/span><\/a> years before. When an officer questioned him, Smith-Connor told him he was “just standing praying.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

READ: UK pro-life activist awarded \u00a313k after repeated arrests for silent prayer<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

ADF International<\/span><\/a> said the court determined that Smith-Connor exhibited \u201cdisapproval of abortion\u201d because \u201cat one point his head was seen slightly bowed and his hands were clasped.\u201d In its <\/span>press release<\/span><\/a>, ADF noted, \u201cToday, the court has decided that certain thoughts \u2014 silent thoughts \u2014 can be illegal in the United Kingdom. That cannot be right.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Smith-Connor added \u201cAll I did was pray to God, in the privacy of my own mind \u2014 and yet I stand convicted as a criminal?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bournemouth zone restricting disapproval of abortion <\/span>encompasses<\/span><\/a> about 3,000,000 square feet. It includes numerous households and businesses around a British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) facility. According to their <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>, BPAS \u201cexists to provide a trailblazing, world leading abortion service, and to campaign for and deliver reproductive choice.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>2024 annual report<\/span><\/a> by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has <\/span>previously condemned<\/span><\/a> similar prosecutions as \u201ctargeting individuals for their peaceful religious expression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite being couched solely as a women\u2019s issue, men often experience <\/span>true regret for abortion<\/span><\/a>. The testimonies of many men who regret participating in abortion have been catalogued by Live Action\u2019s <\/span>Can\u2019t Stay Silent<\/span><\/a> website.<\/span><\/p>\n

Urge Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and other major chains to resist pressure to dispense the abortion pill<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In what his attorneys are calling a “shock ruling,” United Kingdom military veteran and father, Adam Smith-Connor, was found guilty last week of silent prayer in an abortion facility buffer zone. He was convicted of violating a modified provision of a 2014 \u201cAnti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act,\u201d which prohibits \u201c\u200b\u200bProtesting, namely engaging in an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":887,"featured_media":301842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5,4,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCourt issues 'shock ruling' against UK military vet who prayed silently in abortion buffer zone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2022, Adam Smith-Connor prayed behind a tree over 50 feet from the abortion facility, facing away from the building, praying silently.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/court-ruling-uk-vet-prayed-abortion-silently\/\" \/>\n<meta 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