Adam Smith-Connor was found to have violated a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) according to a ruling at Poole Magistrates Court, located in Poole, near Bournemouth, Dorset. The court issued him a conditional discharge, meaning he will face sentencing only if he commits further offenses within the next two years.

Following the ruling, Smith-Connor expressed his disbelief: “The court has ruled that even silent thoughts can be illegal in the UK. How is that possible? I prayed to God in my mind, yet I now stand convicted.” According to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, Smith-Connor was found guilty for expressing “disapproval of abortion,” though he claimed his prayer was about his own son, who had been aborted years earlier.

In November 2022, Smith-Connor had bowed his head and clasped his hands in silent prayer on a public green within a designated buffer zone near an abortion facility on Orphir Road, Bournemouth. He was confronted by police, who asked him, “What is the nature of your prayer?”

The buffer zone, established under the PSPO, was intended to prevent pro-life activities, including offering assistance or prayers to women facing crisis pregnancies, as outlined in a statement by ADF International.

Source: christianpost.com