The word Orwellian is generally overused, but it’s difficult to rein in the 1984 references on this one. George Orwell may have been off by 40 years in his prophetic novel, but like Jules Verne before him (think Nautilus from 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea), his imaginings have turned out to be alarmingly - and quite terrifyingly - accurate.
Big Brother isn’t just watching anymore, his Thought Police are marching through the streets of the western world.
This week on Wednesday the 16th of October, Adam Smith-Connor (an army veteran who fought in Afghanistan), was convicted by the Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court for silently praying for his deceased son; who had been aborted.
Now perhaps you may be thinking that there must be more to this? That Adam must have been breaking the law in some other way? Was he being violent towards the police? Intimidating members of the public somehow? Did he insult anyone, block the pavement, or hand out “offensive” material?
Well, prepare yourselves because the facts of this case are so shocking, I’m not sure even Orwell’s Ministry of Truth would have dared to pursue it!
So what happened?
Almost 2 years ago, Adam had been praying silently and on his own, for approximately 3 minutes before he was approached by police. Adam had his back to an abortion clinic and was within an area covered by a Public Spaces Protection Order. This order constitutes a so called “buffer zone” around the abortion clinic covering several streets, and (among other things) it prohibits:
“engaging in an act of approval/disapproval or attempted act of approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means. This includes but is not limited to graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling.”
Adam was approached by two officers who questioned him on his “activities” on that particular street. Bear in mind Adam is standing still and silent. When Adam responded that he was praying, the officer informed him that he was in a “safe zone” where “certain activities are prohibited”. The officer, captured on video, then asked “in terms of that, can I ask what is the nature of your prayer today”?
Adam replied that he was praying for his son. Despite saying that she “didn’t want to probe and didn’t want to ask him to elaborate on that”, the officer went on to explain that the PSPO contained a clause around prayer, and around disapproval of the activities taking place at the clinic which Adam was standing with his back to.
She went on to say again that while she didn’t want to probe as to the reasons Adam was praying for his son, they may be “perhaps pertinent” to the area he was in.
Adam simply replied “I am praying for my son who is deceased”. While initially expressing sympathy, the officer immediately goes on to say that they must abide by the guidelines of the PSPO and that: “we are of the belief that you are in breach of the PSPO which says about prayer and also acts of disapproval around the activities at the clinic”.
Adam at this point had not mentioned abortion, or that his son had been aborted. He had merely said that he was praying for his son who had died. He reiterated this point saying “I’m just standing praying” but the officers simply stated that the PSPO was there for a reason and they had to follow through on the regulations.
Now Adam didn’t have a banner, he wasn’t giving out leaflets, he didn’t speak to anyone, make eye contact with anyone and no member of the public complained as far as we are aware.
He was charged for “attempted disapproval” of abortion because of thoughts he MAY have been thinking silently in his head!
Double standards
Shockingly - as reported by Isabel Vaughan-Spruce (Director of March for Life UK) who has been supporting Adam throughout this ordeal - Adam had actually been approached by the police a week prior to the incident that led to him being charged. He was standing in the same place and doing the same thing, praying for his son.
Apparently on this occasion though, he received assurances from the police that he was “perfectly entitled to silently pray near the abortion centre”.
Isabel is no stranger to persecution (or prosecution) herself of course, having been arrested and charged with the same offence twice in Birmingham. However, while Adam has been ordered to pay £9000 in legal fees, Isabel actually won compensation of £13 000 from West Midlands Police for her unjust treatment and breach of her human rights; after being acquitted of all charges at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court in February of 2023. Isabel was supported by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF UK), who are also representing Adam.
And while Adam has been fined £9000 by the court for his silent prayer for his son. The same court, located in a city council which is near bankruptcy, has spent roughly £90 000 of public money prosecuting this case!
Adam spoke admirably outside court after the verdict on Wednesday, quoting Psalm 22 v 10:
“When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me”.
Adam said he feels like his government has forsaken him, but thanked the Lord and his supporters for not doing so. Let’s continue to pray for him and for our legal system.
One of his lawyers from ADF UK, Jeremiah Igunnubole (who plans to appeal), called this verdict an:
“era defining ruling for British liberties, Adam has been found guilty of a thought crime, the first conviction of it’s kind in modern British history”
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Tragically it’s not just this case, or that of Isabel, where Christians and pro-lifers are being prosecuted. On the same day that the guilty verdict came down for Adam, a Christian wife and mother to a 2 year old little girl in the United States, Bevelyn Williams; reported to federal prison to begin her 3 year custodial sentence for “unlawful assembly”. What for? For peacefully protesting outside of an abortion clinic in violation of the act which ensures unobstructed access to abortion clinics (the FACE Act).
Her husband (as he drove his wife to surrender herself at a federal prison), spoke of the trauma his little daughter is going to suffer, being separated from her mother for the next 3 years!
Several pensioners have faced similar fates in the US for praying and singing hymns outside of abortion clinics, or peacefully within. With one 89 year old lady facing an 8 year sentence that will likely see her die in jail.
In Scotland (my home country) the Safe access zones Scotland act 2024 came into effect last month. This act not only prohibits any form of protest or even the offer of help and assistance around all abortion providers in Scotland for 200 metres, it extends these buffer zones to include private homes. No, that’s not a joke. The act states:
“Private properties in Safe Access Zones
In general, the offences apply in public places within the Safe Access Zones. However, if someone does something in a private place (such as a private residence) within the boundary of a Safe Access Zone that can be seen or heard in the public places that are part of the Zone, an offence could be committed if it is done with the intention of (or reckless as to the whether it has the effect of):
- influencing someone’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion service
- preventing or impeding someone from accessing, providing, or facilitating the provision of abortion services, or
- causing harassment, alarm or distress to someone relating to their decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services, where in each case the other person is in the safe access zone”
This means that if you are talking about abortion in your garden, or praying in your living room with the window open and one of your neighbours hears you - and are alarmed or distressed by what they overhear - they can report you for breaching the terms of the buffer zone, even when you are within the grounds of your own home!
There is even an online reporting forum to enable people to report such offences, which police Scotland have confirmed can carry a fine of up to £10 000.
Will we end up in Room 101?
Adam’s lawyer Jeremiah, notably also had this to say on Wednesday in response to this totalitarian ruling:
“When British lawyers drafted the European Convention on Human Rights in the aftermath of World War 2, they could never have foreseen that their own country, the United Kingdom, which has a long and rich history of protecting civil liberties, would be guilty of interfering with the most sacrosanct of fundamental rights, namely the right to freedom of thought”.
Adam poignantly stated:
“When George Orwell wrote 1984 in the year 1948, he meant it as a warning and not a guidebook”.
How ironic, that the European Convention on Human Rights was signed a mere 2 years after George Orwell wrote his grisly masterpiece 1984. One has to wonder what’s next for Christians and pro-lifers living under Big Brother?
If we don’t stand up to this kind of tyranny, might simply speaking the name of Christ on the street be enough to see us disappear down a dark corridor, into whatever horrors await us behind the door labelled Room 101? Will you stand with Adam and be counted? Will you stand with us, in defence of the unborn?