EGN NEWS DESK
A letter asking the Prime Minister to behave to guard freedom of thought and silent prayer has been signed almost 60,000 instances.
The letter was launched by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF UK) which is supporting military veteran Adam Smith-Connor who was convicted final week of praying silently inside an abortion clinic buffer zone in Bournemouth. He was ordered to pay £9,000 in prices.
The letter reads, “Freedom of thought is our most elementary and treasured of rights – and has lengthy been recognised in British regulation and each main human rights doc from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights onwards.”
It says it might be “a deeply worrying transfer” if silent prayer is called as a prison offence in authorities steerage, as Sir Keir has indicated.
“Silent prayer isn’t against the law, and the state has no authority to censor our ideas,” the letter continues.
Smith-Connor’s authorized group at ADF at the moment are contemplating whether or not to attraction the conviction.
A petition began by ADF says, “This case has set a harmful precedent within the UK: silent ideas and private reflections can now be criminalised.”
It continues, “Adam prayed silently and along with his again to the power.
“In reality, if Adam had been praying about local weather change or anything, there could be no upcoming courtroom date.
“It wasn’t his actions that have been illegal however the contents of his ideas, deemed as ‘specific[ing] disapproval’ of abortion.”
The petition highlights instances introduced towards different people for praying in abortion clinic buffer zones, like Isabel Vaughan-Spruce who was ultimately discovered not responsible and obtained an apology from West Midlands Police after a six-month investigation. In August, she obtained £13,000 in compensation after the native authorities after they acknowledged that her elementary rights had been breached.
Smith-Connor’s conviction has elevated issues concerning the implications of ‘secure entry zones’ that are to be rolled out round abortion services throughout England and Wales from October 31.
Under the brand new guidelines, it is going to be against the law to “affect” an individual’s “resolution to entry abortion providers” inside 150m of an abortion facility. Breaching the buffer zones dangers a vast advantageous.
ADF UK stated that the UK “is turning into a global embarrassment as a consequence of these instances”.
“How can we, as a nation, champion human rights internationally and but be the primary Western nation to criminalise thought and prayer?” the petition concludes.
