Carla Lockhart, a DUP Member of Parliament, hopes last week's decision not to prosecute a grandmother for holding a sign within an abortion clinic buffer zone will lead to change across the UK.
She has welcomed the news that the Scottish Procurator Fiscal will not be prosecuting Glaswegian Rose Docherty, 75.
Harassment, intimidation, or influencing decisions about abortion are not permitted within the controversial zones.
Docherty was arrested in February after standing in a buffer zone silently and holding a sign that read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want".
Docherty maintains that her presence in the zone did not contravene any of these restrictions.
It made international headlines when it was confirmed last week that the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland had decided against pursuing a prosecution against her.
Lockhart, MP for Upper Bann, welcomed the news, saying in the Belfast News Letter, "We have consistently raised concerns that buffer zones by their very nature not only seek to curtail free speech but can criminalise the private thoughts of an individual.
"This of Rose Docherty represents a significant victory for common sense and for the protection of fundamental freedoms.”
Lockhart added that she hoped the Docherty decision would set a precedent, not only in Scotland, but across the wider United Kingdom.
She noted that Docherty’s is not the only such case. Another notable case is Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who remains under investigation despite being cleared twice previously.
Docherty's has been one of the most high-profile, though, attracting the attention of the US State Department, which called on Scotland to respect freedom of expression for all.
Lockhart said, "Whilst it is a victory and sets a precedent in Scotland, we should all hope that it may also signal a change across the United Kingdom as a whole."
Vaughan-Spruce, who is co-director of March for Life UK, has faced multiple investigations and arrests for silently praying near an abortion clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham.
Lockhart continued, "No-one should forget that these laws are not about tackling harassment or abuse.
"They are based on the notion of 'influence' being an offence. As we have witnessed, this can then be used against someone standing peacefully and even silently in the street.”
