Man Fined for Silent Prayer Outside British Abortion Clinic

Pro-life campaigner Adam Smith-Connor in an undated file photo. (Courtesy of ADF UK)

A pro-life campaigner who told authorities he was “praying silently for his son” is challenging his fine for breaching an exclusion zone outside a Birmingham abortion clinic.

Adam Smith-Connor is challenging a £100 council fine after he was found to be praying near an abortion facility in a buffer zone in Bournemouth, southwest UK, last November.

The “buffer zone” has been enforced since Oct. 13, 2022. The zone was implemented by local authorities through a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

In video footage, Smith-Connor says he was praying for his late son.

Smith-Connor’s son died as a result of an abortion 22 years ago.

Smith-Connor is supported by ADF UK, the British branch of the U.S. faith-based legal advocacy organisation Alliance Defending Freedom.

An ADF UK spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email that Smith-Connor has prayed before in the same location, on Remembrance Day, about the friends he had lost in conflict while serving in the army, including in Afghanistan, though he faced no fine or penalty for these prayers. The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify this claim.

Prayer in Breach of Regulations

In the video a council officer responds by saying that: “I’m sorry for your loss. But ultimately, I have to go along with the guidelines of the Public Space Protection Order, to say that we are in the belief that therefore you are in breach of clause 4A, which says about prayer, and also acts of disapproval.”

When Smith-Connor says, “I’m just standing praying,” the officer responds: “I do understand that. But the PSPO is in place for a reason and we have to follow through on those regulations.”

A “buffer zone” is an area within a boundary of 150 metres from any part of an abortion clinic. Breaking a PSPO can lead to a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.

Normally used for substance abuse and criminality issues, PSPOs create zones that enable local authorities to prevent certain anti-social activities from taking place in an area.

Pro-abortion demonstrators (rear) and pro-life demonstrators (front) gather outside a Marie Stopes clinic in London, in an undated file photo. (John Stillwell/PA)

Prohibited in such zones are protesting and “engaging in an act of approval/disapproval or attempted act of approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services.”

Other banned acts include prayers, counselling, holding vigils where members audibly pray, reciting scripture, genuflecting, sprinkling holy water on the ground, or crossing themselves if they perceive a service-user is passing by.

‘Risk a Criminal Record for Praying Silently’

“Twenty-two years ago I drove my ex-girlfriend to a facility and paid for her to have an abortion. It was a pivotal moment in my life,” Smith-Connor said in a statement.

“The consequences of my actions that day came back to grieve me years later, when I realised I had lost my son Jacob to an abortion I had paid for. Recently, I stood outside a similar facility and prayed to God for my son Jacob, for other babies who have lost their lives to abortion, for their grieving families, and for abortion clinic staff,” he added.

Smith-Connor, an army veteran, said that he would “never have imagined being in a position to risk a criminal record for praying silently.”

“In the past, I assisted with abortions in hospital as part of my army medical training, but now I pray for those who perform abortions because I realise how harmful abortion is to women and families, and that every single human life is valuable, no matter how small. Most of all, I’m moved to pray because of what happened to my son, Jacob,” he said.

Pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce in an undated file photo. (Courtesy of ADF UK)

The case follows that of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was arrested on Dec. 6 in Birmingham and charged on Dec. 15 with four counts of failing to comply with a PSPO.

Vaughan-Spruce is the leader of the pro-life group 40 Days for Life Birmingham.

At the time, Vaughan-Spruce told The Epoch Times that said she was asked by police if she was praying. She said that she might be “silently in her head,” after which she was arrested.

‘Clinic Harassment’

Katherine O’Brien, associate director of communications and campaigns at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service previously told The Epoch Times that “clinic harassment has an impact disproportionate to the behaviour involved, largely because of the lack of ability to avoid the activity while women and providers have to walk past them to access the clinic, the confidential nature of medical care, and the heightened emotional state of many clients.”

“The rapid proliferation of orders criminalising volunteers such as Adam and Isabel should be a wake-up call to all those who value freedom of expression, even freedom of thought, no matter their views on abortion,” said Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Counsel for ADF UK.

Last October, UK MPs supported proposals to make anti-abortion protests and vigils around clinics a criminal offence in England and Wales.

A Bournemouth Council spokesperson told The Epoch Times that it cannot comment on any individual cases.