Vice President JD Vance left U.K. army veteran Adam Smith-Connor "incredibly surprised" after his story of being arrested for silently praying outside an abortion clinic became the focus of a defense of free speech and religious liberty on the international stage over the weekend.

"I had no idea it was going to happen," Smith-Connor said Sunday on "Fox & Friends Weekend."

"I'm a physiotherapist. I was treating a patient. I just had a few minutes' gap between patients… and [I learned] the vice president of America was talking about [my] case, so it was incredibly surprising, and I'm very grateful to him for highlighting this case."

Smith-Connor was found guilty of breaching the local government's Public Spaces Protection Order in October, nearly two years after standing outside an abortion facility with his head bowed in silent prayer.

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He was ordered to pay £9,000 (approximately $11,330 USD) to his prosecutors as a result.

Vance highlighted the case as he blasted 'Soviet'-style European censorship in an address to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference last Friday. 

"The backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs," the vice president said.

"A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and an Army veteran with the heinous crime of standing 50 meters from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own."

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Lois McLatchie Miller, senior legal communications officer at Alliance Defending Freedom International, informed Smith-Connor of Vance's acknowledgment through a phone call. 

She told "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy that ADF International is supporting his legal defense as they seek to appeal the judgment later this year.

"This intervention from Vice President Vance highlighting the case really exposes that this is the worst example of censorship in the West right now. If we cannot think thoughts in our heads on certain British streets, we have no hope for freedom anywhere else."

Planned Parenthood caught the internet’s attention on Thursday after all of its Instagram posts were deleted within hours of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary RFK Jr.’s swearing in. 

The organization, in an apparent nod to this move, posted a pair of eyes on a black background on its Instagram story with no explanation.

On Friday, Planned Parenthood posted another story, an animated gif with the words "I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me," and later there were just three posts on its Instagram page, all about condom use.

As speculation swirled about the mysterious disappearance of the posts, many pro-life advocates started to call for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. This also comes just days after a conservative watchdog nonprofit founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, urged the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut federal spending on Planned Parenthood.

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"For the sake of the American people and generations yet unborn, the time has come for the United States to finally defund the largest abortion provider in America," Tim Chapman, president of Advancing American Freedom, wrote in a letter to Elon Musk.

Planned Parenthood health centers received nearly $22 billion in HHS grants and $53 billion from public health programs from 2019 to 2021, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

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During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said that he believes "every abortion is a tragedy," and expressed support for President Donald Trump’s assertion that states should handle the issue.

"I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy," Kennedy said. "I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions, and he wants to protect conscience exemptions."  

Kennedy, who has expressed support for abortion in the past, vowed to implement Trump’s policies.

With Kennedy at the helm of HHS and Elon Musk at DOGE, pro-choice advocates fear that Planned Parenthood will be on the chopping block.

On Feb. 3, Planned Parenthood Federation of America put out a statement warning that "defunding" the organization could put patients at risk of losing access to "sexual and reproductive care."

Planned Parenthood Federation of America said that in 2022 the organization treated 2.05 million patients. The services mentioned in the organization’s included more than 4.6 million STI tests, nearly 213,000 breast exams and more. However, no data on the number of abortions performed in that time was listed.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a Fox News request for comment.