Buffer zone laws continue to target Christians across UK

In 2024, Scotland’s parliament passed the Abortion Services Act (Safe Access Zones), which forbids vigils and demonstrations within a 200m radius around 30 different clinics, according to the BBC. In the same year, England and Wales also introduced their own buffer zone legislation. It came into force from earlier provisions in the Public Order Act 2023.

The law prohibits protest, including activities that could influence others from seeking abortion services. Recently, authorities have singled out silent prayer as one such activity that could be seen as "influencing" others. Similar legislation on buffer zones was also passed in Northern Ireland, according to the BBC.

In Scotland, Rose Docherty was arrested last year for "influencing" near a "buffer zone" and for violating Scotland’s 2024 law that punishes those who influence anyone seeking abortion services within a 200-metre vicinity of a hospital. ADF International also reported that a hearing on the case was held on 20 April at Glasgow’s Sheriff Court.

The subsequent ruling revealed that the charges were in violation of her right to freedom of expression as indicated in Article 10. The charges also failed to properly identify a particular individual who might have been influenced within that "buffer zone".

Authorities additionally ruled that there was no evidence to believe that someone might have been seeking or facilitating abortion services, according to the ADF International report.

The sheriff in the trial concluded that the procurator "failed to disclose an offence known to the law of Scotland". As of now, the case has now been moved to a status known as "pro loco et tempore", meaning that the case can be revived if further evidence proves otherwise or if the "prosecution is in the public interest".

The procurator in the case says that they are still making enquires to see if anyone was influenced by Rose within the buffer zone, according to ADF International.

Last year in September, Docherty stood along a public street and held up a sign that read, "Coercion is a crime; here to talk if you want." She did not come up to anyone, intimidate, or cause harassment. Rather, she offered the chance to talk to those who were willing to listen.

Yet, police insisted on her arrest. Her case sparked outrage from the Scottish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the US State Department. The case, says the US State Department in the ADF release, is "another egregious example of the tyrannical suppression of free speech happening across Europe".

"This verdict is a major victory for free speech in Scotland and the UK. It shows that peacefully offering consensual conversation on a public street, which is all I have ever done, can never be a crime," she says to ADF International.

While Docherty’s case has been dismissed, a few cases involving Christians violating buffer zone laws are still ongoing.

Clive Johnston

In Northern Ireland, pastor and grandfather of seven Clive Johnston was confronted by police and prosecuted for preaching John 3:16 within a hospital’s buffer zone. He is facing two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act, according to The Christian Institute. Johnston says that he was holding an open-air Sunday sermon on the theme of preaching the Gospel.

He is being tried in court for influencing those who may be accessing the hospital’s abortion services and for not leaving the premises when being asked by police. No charges against "harassing or impeding" were recorded. Johnston says that he simply wanted to talk to others about the Gospel.

His preaching did not include any mention of abortion nor involve the presence of signs or banners. Johnston's last hearing, along with a verdict, will be given on 7 May, 2026. If convicted, he will have a criminal record along with fines amounting to several thousand pounds, The Christian Institute notes.

Stephen Green

In a similar case, preacher Stephen Green was prosecuted in 2023 for holding a sign inside West London’s MSI Reproductive Choices buffer zone. He quoted the Bible verse Psalm 139:13 in the King James translation: "For thou hast possessed my reins; thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb."

Seven months after the incident, he received a prosecution notice from the Ealing Council, according to Christian Concern. In 2018, the Ealing Council created a Public Space Protection Order that would cover the Marie Stopes abortion facility. The order dictates that they would criminalise “any act of disapproval of abortion within a buffer zone", which includes praying and sharing Bible verses.

He was tried in court and was found guilty of breaching the order. The district judge said that although his protest was peaceful, his case had to be weighed against those who were accessing abortion services. He later appealed, but the court rejected his appeal in 2024. He and the Christian Legal Centre filed a claim for a judicial review, but it was denied. The Christian Legal Centre has since renewed that request, Christian Concern reported.