A Scottish grandmother who was arrested and charged for holding a sign offering consensual conversation in an abortion clinic buffer zone has another court hearing on Thursday.
Rose Docherty, 75, was arrested outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow last September as she quietly held a sign reading “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want”.
She is the first person to face prosecution under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024, which created 200-metre exclusion zones around abortion facilities across Scotland in which “influencing” others on abortion is banned.
She was subsequently charged with alleged “influencing” within the buffer zone. Her lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom UK (ADF) contest this on the grounds that she silently offered consensual conversation and did not approach any individual or make any statement about abortion.
During Thursday afternoon's hearing, her lawyer is expected to challenge the compatibility of the prosecution and any subsequent conviction with Mrs Docherty's human rights. A trial date may also be set during the hearing.
Mrs Docherty, who was arrested by four officers, denies any wrongdoing.
“Everybody has the right to engage in consensual conversation. I held my sign with love and compassion, inviting anyone who wants to chat, to do so – and stood peacefully, not approaching anyone," she said.
“I should not be treated as a criminal for inviting people to chat with me – lending a listening ear. Conversation is not forbidden on the streets of Glasgow. And yet, this is the second time I have been arrested for doing just that.”
Her case has attracted the interest of the US State Department which said it was “another egregious example of the tyrannical suppression of free speech happening across Europe”.
Scottish Catholic bishops have also spoken out about her arrest and the impact of the buffer zones, saying that the restrictions on free speech, free expression and freedom of religion "should concern us all".
“It cannot be a crime to give our voice and our prayers to the unborn … Every human life has infinite dignity from its beginning. That truth is not confined to private thoughts," they said.
“A society confident in its values does not fear opposing voices. It does not criminalise silent prayer. It does not ask its police or judges to peer into the minds of its citizens."
It is not Mrs Docherty's first brush with the law over buffer zones. She was arrested on a separate occasion last August for holding the same sign, but the Scottish authorities eventually dropped their case.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, said, “It’s deeply concerning that Scottish policing resources are being ploughed into arresting and prosecuting a peaceful grandmother offering to speak to people in public, rather than focusing on the problems caused by real crime in Glasgow.
“This is not a case about harassment, intimidation or violent protest – this is simply a grandmother, who held a sign offering to speak to anyone who would like to engage.”
