Another person is being prosecuted for silently praying close to an abortion clinic. Adam Smith-Connor is being taken to court for the prayers in his head. He joins Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and Roman Catholic priest Father Sean Gough, who were taken to court earlier this year. They were both acquitted in February.
We accept that prayers are not location dependent. We don’t have to be standing near an abortion facility to pray about it. We can pray anywhere. However, the principle of being charged with a crime for silently praying is a troubling one. Especially so as the governments in Westminster and Holyrood contemplate bringing in new laws banning conversion practices, which – if activists get their way – could include banning certain types of prayers.
