DORSET COUNTY, England (BP) — An Army veteran and father of three was found guilty Oct. 16 of praying silently in a large abortion buffer zone in England and fined the equivalent of $11,700, Alliance Defending Freedom UK (ADF U.K.) reported.
Adam Smith-Conner could face jail time under the conditional discharge the court granted, his attorneys said, if he commits the same crime within the next two years.
“This is 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,” Smith-Conner’s attorney Jeremiah Igunnubole said in response to the ruling. “We can hardly sink any lower in our neglect of basic fundamental freedoms of free speech and thought. We will look closely at the judgment and are considering options to appeal. Human rights are for all people — no matter their view on abortion.”
The England conviction comes as the United States grapples with the juxtaposition of abortion clinic buffer zones and freedom of speech. The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear at least two cases in its October session that seek to outlaw buffer zones around clinics and around the people accessing them as violations of First Amendment rights.
The U.S. cases, Coalition Life v. City of Carbondale, Ill., and Jeryl Turco v. City of Englewood, N.J., involve buffer zones, which are in place in several jurisdictions in the U.S., despite the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McCullen v. Coakley, striking down a Massachusetts law that mandated 35-foot buffer zones around abortion clinics.
In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court said such zones violated the First Amendment rights of protestors.
In the England case, Dorset County’s council is among five in England that designate buffer zones around abortion clinics under individual council legislation, with Dorset County’s zone covering several streets. Dorset County’s Public Spaces Protection Order of 2022 prohibits, “Protesting, namely engaging in an act of approval/disapproval or attempted act of approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means (including) graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counseling,” as well as other specified activities.
But the zones are set to be instituted nationwide on Oct. 31 under the Public Order Act of 2023, which bans any attempt to “influence” a woman’s decision to access abortion services, but the exact restrictions are unclear, Igunnubole said.
“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,” Igunnubole said. “But the Public Order Act is written so vaguely that these everyday, peaceful, caring conversations could be made illegal on certain streets of England when it comes to discussing abortion.
“The right to hold a consensual conversation, or engage in silent prayer, (is) protected by international legal provisions on freedom of thought and speech. 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.”
The Public Order Act makes it a crime “for a person within a safe access zone to intentionally or recklessly influence, obstruct, or cause harassment, alarm, or distress to any person in connection with their decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic,” designating a zone as about 164 yards from any part of the clinic or any access point to a site that contains an abortion clinic.
Smith-Conner videotaped his encounter with officers after he said he bowed his head slightly and clasped his hands briefly in the buffer zone in November 2022. Officers asked him the nature of his prayer, he said.
“Today, the court has decided that certain thoughts — silent thoughts — can be illegal in the United Kingdom. That cannot be right,” Smith-Conner said after his conviction. “All I did was pray to God, in the privacy of my own mind — and yet I stand convicted as a criminal?
“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. I continue that spirit of service as a health care professional and church volunteer. It troubles me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to the extent that thoughtcrimes are now being prosecuted in the U.K.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.)
