It’s not often I am left with an open mouth but this is one such occasion. I subscribe to the Christian Institute, a very professional oganization that attempts to influence the government of the UK about various trends that it considers immoral or un-Christian.

The only consolation I can draw from this article is that it is a tacit recognition of the power of prayer. Does anyone who reads my journal pray? What to do you think? How did he accrue £9,000 prosecution costs?  It looks like a deterrent to others.

A man has been found guilty of silently praying near an abortion centre in Bournemouth.

Adam Smith-Connor was standing in a council-imposed ‘censorship zone’ in November 2022 when police officers asked him “what is the nature of your prayer?”. When he said he was praying for his deceased son, they claimed he was breaching the zone’s prohibition against “prayer and acts of disapproval” in relation to abortion.

Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court has now ruled that his conduct was “disapproval of abortion”, because he bowed his head and clasped his hands. The army veteran has been ordered to pay prosecution costs of £9,000, and will be sentenced if he is convicted again during the next two years.

‘Eroded freedoms’

Smith-Connor stated: “Today, the court has decided that certain thoughts – silent thoughts – can be illegal in the United Kingdom. That cannot be right. 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 UK.”

Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Counsel at religious liberty group Alliance Defending Freedom UK, which is supporting the case, added: “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”.

‘Bizarre’ The Christian Institute’s Deputy Director Simon Calvert said: “Who would have believed in 21st century Britain you could be found guilty of a crime for praying in your head?<“Mr Smith-Connor was convicted using a bizarre interpretation of existing public order law. When new buffer zone laws come into force it will be even easier to convict pro-lifers for thought crimes. “England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland each have their own buffer zones laws but the common feature is to make pro-life beliefs prosecutable despite the fact that they are not being communicated to anyone except the police officer interrogating you.

“Whether you support abortion or not, everyone should be concerned about this because if politicians can outlaw the holding of pro-life beliefs today, they might come for your beliefs tomorrow.”

National censorship zones are due to be imposed across England and Wales, criminalising prayer and offers of help to pregnant women outside abortion centres.From 31 October, people could receive an unlimited fine for “anything that intentionally or recklessly influences someone’s decision to use abortion services, obstructs them, or causes harassment or distress” within 150m of buildings where abortions are carried out.Similar restrictions are in force across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

However, common sense applies elsewhere. I read in the Christian Institute the newsletter the following:
” pro-lifer awarded searching thousand pounds after silent prayer arrest pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughn spruce has received 13,000 pounds and an apology from the police after being wrongfully arrested for praying silently inside a censorship zone near and abortion clinic in Birmingham.

In a statement she said “silent prayer is not a crime. Nobody should be arrested merely for the thoughts they have in their heads- yet this happened to me twice at the hands of the West Midlands police, who explicitly told me that prayer is an offence”.

Former cabinet minister Lord Frost called it incredible that people have been arrested for for crime in modern Britain. Censorship zones that seek to criminalise prayer outside abortion centers will be introduced from 31st of October 2024. Pro-lifers face unlimited fines if they are deemed to have influence someone’s decision to have an abortion, obstruct them, or cause harassment or distress within 150 meters of centers.