Brit warns of government crackdown on ‘thought crimes’ after silent prayer accusation: ‘Horrifying consequences’

A British Army veteran who was recently convicted of expressing his “disapproval of abortion” by silently praying in an abortion “buffer zone” is concerned that his case is just the beginning of a worrying trend of punishing “thoughts” in United Kingdom.

“I think this has appalling, quite frankly appalling, consequences for England. The idea that the state has the power to look into people’s minds and criminalize your very thoughts should horrify every freedom-loving Englishman,” Adam Smith-Connor told Fox News. Digital.

The father-of-two, physiotherapist and veteran of 20 years in the British Army, was found guilty in October of breaching a local government order to protect public spaces after he stood outside an abortion center with his head silently bowed nearly two years ago. prayer. He was given a conditional discharge at Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay legal costs of £9,000 (or almost $12,000), according to the report. Alliance Defending Freedom “ADF” UK.

“We will appeal this decision because in the UK no one should be criminally responsible for what they think,” ADF UK spokeswoman Lois MacLatchie Miller said. Fox News Digital.

Adam Smith-Connor faces criminal charges for silently praying in a “buffer zone” outside a British abortion clinic. (Courtesy of ADF International)

LIFE ACTIVIST ARRESTED FOR PRAYING OUTSIDE UK ABORTION CENTER GETS BIG POLICE PAYOUT

Video taken That day, local council staff are seen approaching Smith-Connor and examining him to uncover “the nature of (his) prayer”. After he reported that he was praying for his “dead son”, he was warned that his prayer was seen as an act of “disapproval of abortion” and thus a violation of the buffer zone law.

Smith-Connor told Fox News Digital that he often prays outside clinics for people considering abortions, as well as for his son, whose abortion he paid for more than two decades ago.

On the day in question, Smith-Connor said he stood with his back to the building and did not look at or make contact with anyone until officers arrived. He was surprised by what happened because just a week before After this incident, local authorities assured him that he was allowed to pray outside another abortion clinic.

Abortion buffer zones will be in place across the UK from 31 October 2024, making it an offense to try to influence someone to access an abortion facility. (AP)

He said the decision should concern anyone concerned about the protection of freedom of speech and thought in the UK and the west.

“Frankly. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice. You know, the abortion issue is really a secondary issue here. It’s really a matter of freedom. And if we give this power to declare that it can turn your thoughts into a criminal act, then each of us will be in trouble, because today you may agree with the government, but in the future there may be a government with which you do not agree. But once you establish this thought. crime is a thing. Then what they can do is unstoppable,” he told Fox News Digital.

“It surprised a lot of people in the United Kingdom because it’s 2024, not 1984,” McLatchy Miller added in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Adam Smith-Connor was convicted this month of praying silently outside an abortion clinic and ordered to pay court costs of about $12,000. (ADF International)

UK MAN ACCUSED FOR PRAYING IN AN ABORTION CLINIC WARN US: THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU

Smith-Connor’s sentence comes as the United Kingdom imposes additional buffer zones this week across England and Wales following the introduction of the legislation in 2023.

The zones, which extend within a 500-foot radius, make it a crime to “intentionally or recklessly” influence a person’s decision and obstruct access to an abortion facility. according to Reuters.

McLatchie Miller said the “vague” language of the “influence” law could amount to punishing people for peaceful conversations on a public street or punishing someone for their thoughts, as in the Smith-Connor case.

“Right now we don’t know if this will apply to silent stops, as happened with Adam, or to volunteers handing out or discussing options with women experiencing crisis pregnancies. But the law’s wording of “influence” is so vague that it could very well be subjectively applied to punish people simply for the thoughts they hold in their heads, or for the helpful, consensual conversations they have on a public street. So I think there’s a lot more of that coming. in the UK,” McLatchy Miller told Fox News Digital.

Isabelle Vaughan-Spruce at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court where she is accused along with Father Sean Gough, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, of protesting outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham’s abortion censorship zone. Photo date: Thursday, February 16, 2023 (Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

The ruling against Smith-Connor comes after another British Christian woman won a lawsuit in August after she was arrested for silently protesting abortion.

British woman who was Those arrested for silently praying outside an abortion center received a £13,000 (about $17,000) payout from West Midlands Police in Birmingham, England, after filing a lawsuit accusing them of false imprisonment, assault and wrongful death. arrest.

Fox News’ Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP