A MAN who breached a public spaces protection order by praying for his unborn son outside an abortion clinic will appeal against his conviction.

Adam Smith-Connor, 51, travelled from Southampton on several occasions to ‘silently pray’ outside the BPAS Abortion Clinic in Bournemouth.

He emailed the council before each visit, informing he would be silently praying for his son who was aborted 22 years ago and for the end of abortion in the UK and across the world.

The clinic is subject to a public spaces protection order (PSPO), enforced by BCP Council, in order to protect staff and service users following issues with protests.

On December 13, 2022, Smith-Connor was issued a fixed penalty notice for failing to comply with the PSPO.

Following a trial at Poole Magistrates’ Court in September of this year, district judge Orla Austin found the defendant did breach the order by praying against abortion within the zone and that it would have been perceptible to the public.

He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay more than £9,000 in court costs and victim surcharge.

Smith-Connor has now announced he will be pursuing an appeal against his conviction, adding: “The government simply cannot be allowed to determine the content of thoughts and prayers.”

It comes amid new guidance by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which came into force on Thursday, October 31.

It states that a person carrying out activities within a zone such as silent prayer “will not necessarily commit a criminal offence”.

Instances will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, with police and prosecutors deciding around the intent or recklessness of the person involved.

Pro-choice campaigners had called for a total ban on silent prayer within the zones, arguing a woman using a clinic can feel intimidated by the presence of someone standing in the area praying, even if they are not speaking.

But opponents of the new law have repeatedly insisted not allowing silent prayer is a “gross intrusion in the right of freedom of religion, free speech”, with the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) indicating they could seek legal action, saying any inclusion of silent prayer “needs to be properly tested in the courts”.

The Home Office said the CPS guidance “will ensure there is clarity and consistency across the country”.