A retired pastor has thanked his worldwide supporters for standing by him as he faces prosecution for preaching in an abortion buffer zone.
Clive Johnston, 76, delivered a sermon to a small group of people in the buffer zone around Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, Northern Ireland in July of last year.
A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland said of the case, "Following careful consideration of all the available evidence in a police investigation file, a decision to prosecute an individual for one count of allegedly doing an act in a safe access zone contrary to the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 and one count of failing to comply with a direction under the same Act issued on 13th February 2024.”
While officially retired, Pastor Johnston still preaches at his local church. According to News Letter, he said, “I have had immense support from across the grassroots evangelical community but also from the Catholic community today … To be honest, it's been such an encouragement. I have had people contacting me to offer their support from England, America, Spain, Romania and Croatia."
Pastor Johnston confirmed that his legal fight will be taken on by The Christian Institute and added that the deputy leader of Aontú, Gemma Brolly, had been in touch to offer her support.
Aontú is a relatively new political party in both Northern and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 2019 by former members of Sinn Féin who objected to the party’s drift towards social liberalism and is staunchly anti-abortion.
Buffer zones around abortion clinics were introduced in Northern Ireland in 2023 to prevent “harassment” of those seeking abortions from protestors.
US Vice-President JD Vance recently took issue with abortion buffer zones in Scotland. He claimed that people whose houses were within the zones were warned that private prayer in their homes could be considered a breach of the law, something the Scottish government has denied.
