To control activity around abortion clinics, the Bournemouth, Christchurch & Pool Council (BCP Council) in southern England put a three-year “Public Space Protection Order (PSPO)” into effect around Bournemouth’s abortion clinic October 13, 2022. Legal standing came from Great Britain’s Anti-social Behavior, Crime and Policing Act of 2014.* The BCP Council’s Order prohibited (4a) “Protesting, namely 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 [sic].” Six additional things (4b-4g) are also listed as unlawful actions within the “safe space” around the abortion clinic in Bournemouth.**

On November 24, 2022, British Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor stood approximately 50 meters (164 feet) from the Bournemouth abortion clinic with his back to the clinic and prayed silently. Two officers approached Smith-Connor, reminded him that he was inside an area governed by a “public space protection order,” and asked him “the nature” of his prayer.*** Smith-Connor explained that he was praying for his deceased son. As a result of that encounter, he was prosecuted and almost two years later, on October 16, 2024, the Bournemouth Magistrates Court convicted him of violating the safe access zone and showing a “disapproval of abortion” while praying. Smith-Connor was ordered to pay £9,000 and told that he faced prison if he practiced any more silent praying inside the designated “safe zone.” He appealed the decision.

On October 31, 2024, two weeks after Smith-Connor’s local conviction, the national Public Order Act of 2023**** went into effect for all of England and Wales. Section 9 of that law addresses an “offence of interference with access to or provision of abortion services,” and defines the “safe access zone” around an abortion provider as an area 150 meters [492 feet] from “any part of an abortion clinic or any access point to any building or site that contains an abortion clinic”—including hospitals. Places of worship are excluded, but praying elsewhere is not.

In December 2025, Isabel Vaughn-Spruce was charged after standing near an abortion facility and praying silently. She pled “not guilty” in January 2026, facing trial October 6-9.

It is noteworthy that amendments to exclude prayer from the Public Order Act of 2023 failed in Britain’s Parliament. This demonstrated that blocking silent prayer was one intended outcome of the law. A Law Department Lecturer at the University of Winchester (England) was more explicit. She said, “…silent prayer is a form of reproductive coercion….”+

Scotland has also passed a safe zones law. Scottish residents whose home fall within abortion providers’ “safe access zone” have received official letters++ warning of potential conviction for what they might say or do in their homes. With vague wording in the letters, courts will define behaviors.+++ One 74-year-old grandmother was arrested in Scotland (February 2025) after she silently held a sign outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (Glasgow). It said, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”++++

Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, also has a safe zone law protecting abortion providers, and last year, the Republic of Ireland passed a similar law. +*+

SOURCES:

CBN News reporter Dale Hurd Interviews Adam Smith-Connor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXbJdv6e3ag

*Anti-social Behavior, Crime and Policing Act of 2014: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/12/contents

**The Bournemouth, Christchurch & Pool Council’s Public Spaces Protection Order: https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Assets/Crime-safety-and-emergencies/PSPOs/Ophir-Road-and-surrounding-area-Public-Spaces-Protection-Order-PSPO.pdf

***Video of Officers questioning Adam Connor-Smith: https://youtu.be/hjUphe7mktE?si=-MfPmsueVO4ZQSMi

****United Kingdom, Public Order Act of 2023: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/15?view=extent

+Emily Otlley, “Silent Prayer vs Safe Access,” 13 Nov 2024

Silent Prayer vs Safe Access

++Resident who receive letter: https://www.thefp.com/p/abortion-buffer-zones-united-kingdom-free-speech-arrested-for-praying-in-her-head

+++Read one of the letter send to Scottish residents living inside “safe access zones”: https://x.com/IsabelVSpruce/status/1844114355782320485

++++Photos of the Arrest of a Scottish Grandmother: https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/world-news/grandmother-arrested-for-holding-sign-outside-scottish-hospital-performing-abortions/

+*+ Republic of Ireland law, Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services)(Safe Access Zones) Act 2024: https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/act/2024/13/eng/enacted/a1324.pdf