A grandmother arrested for holding a ‘here to talk’ sign in an abortion censorship zone has expressed delight that no further action is to be taken against her.
Rose Docherty was arrested in February for offering consensual conversation near Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service initially said it would drop any threats of prosecution if she accepted their formal warning, but she refused to accept it as it was “unjust”.
Under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act people risk an unlimited fine for handing out pro-life literature within 200m of a centre, speaking to anyone about abortion, or praying silently.
‘Preposterous’
Docherty said that the decision of the Crown Office to withdraw action “seems to indicate that I was not breaking the law”.
She added: “This buffer zone law is all about intimidation, harassment and influencing. There is nothing intimidatory or harassing about an elderly woman standing by the roadside offering to lend a listening ear.”
The 75-year-old told BBC Scotland: “To be warned for having stood on the streets of Glasgow offering to have a conversation if anyone wants to come and speak to you – it just seems preposterous.”
She did not confirm whether she would take up her sign again, but noted: “I don’t feel that I’m constrained by being afraid”.
‘Criminalising kindness’
Docherty said: “This is a victory not just for me, but for everyone in Scotland who believes we should be free to hold a peaceful conversation.”
“I stood with love and compassion, ready to listen to anyone who wanted to talk. Criminalising kindness has no place in a free society.”
Her case came to the attention of the US State Department, which commented: “We applaud Scotland’s sensible decision to refrain from further legal action against Rose Docherty.
“The United States stands with all those fighting for free speech and religious liberty.”
Freedom of thought
Pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is being investigated by West Midlands Police for the third time for praying silently in an abortion censorship zone in England.
Vaughan-Spruce explained: “Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it’s unbelievable that I am still being harassed by police for silently praying in that area, and yet again find myself under investigation for the same prayers I have said for twenty years.”
She asserted: “Silent prayer cannot possibly be a crime – everyone has the right to freedom of thought.”
Jeremiah Igunnubole from Alliance Defending Freedom International, the organisation supporting both Docherty and Vaughan-Spruce, described the zones as “among the most concerning frontiers of censorship in the modern west”.
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