Clive Johnston
Retired pastor Clive Johnston has been convicted under abortion buffer zones laws for an open-air sermon on John 3:16, even though abortion was never mentioned.
Please pray for him, his wife Sheila, and as they consider options to appeal.
The 78-year-old, a former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, has been convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act for holding an open-air Sunday service on the fringes of a buffer zone on the other side of a dual carriageway from Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital on 7 July 2024.
The Act means it is now a criminal offence for people to be “impeded, recorded, influenced or to be caused harassment, alarm or distress” within the eight 100-150m buffer zones that were created around hospitals and abortion clinics.
Mr Johnston, who pastored several churches in the North West, is accused of seeking to ‘influence’ people accessing the hospital’s abortion services and for not immediately leaving the area when asked to do so by police. He is not accused of impeding or harassing.
Crucially, it is not alleged that he even mentioned abortion. Nor were there any abortion placards or banners.
The grandfather of seven – who had never been in trouble with the police – now faces a criminal record and £450 in fines. It is expected that he will appeal.
High resolution images of Clive
‘Carried by the Lord’s presence’
‘We will have to revisit Safe Access Zone legislation’
‘Unjust law is being selectively applied to criminalise gospel preaching’
Pastor Clive Johnston convicted: ‘A dark day for Christian freedom’
Clive Johnston decision withheld until May
Pastor Clive Johnston arrives at Coleraine Courthouse
Censoring John 3:16
‘This is about the Gospel’: Pastor Clive Johnston on his abortion censorship zone prosecution
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Watch Clive Johnston outside court, 21 March 2025.
