US Religious Liberty Commission takes swipe at British abortion clinic buffer zones.
Adam Smith-Connor (R) with his legal counsel, Jeremiah Igunnubole (L) of the Alliance Defending Freedom. (Photo: Alliance Defending Freedom)The Religious Liberty Commission established by US President Donald Trump has raised concerns about the UK.
While primarily focused on religious freedom in the US, a 224-page report warned about a case in the UK that relates to controversial abortion clinic buffer zone prosecutions.
“Even in other Western countries, governments have adopted many such policies [that threaten religious freedom]," the report said.
"In the United Kingdom, police recently arrested army veteran and physiotherapist Adam Smith-Connor for the crime of silently praying.”
Smith-Connor was found guilty of breaching abortion buffer zone laws in Bournemouth. A number of other individuals have been found guilty of breaching abortion buffer zones, including Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and retired pastor Clive Johnston, who delivered an open-air sermon within an abortion zone that made no mention of abortion.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Smith-Connor welcomed the interest shown in his case by the commission.
“I am grateful to the US religious liberty commission for highlighting the growing threat to freedom of thought, religion, and speech in the UK. I was investigated and convicted for nothing more than silently praying," he said.
"I hope my case serves as a warning that liberty cannot be taken for granted – it must be actively defended. No genuinely free and democratic society should criminalise peaceful, even silent, expressions of faith.”
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