A 74-year-old grandmother who was arrested under Scotland’s abortion “buffer zone” law says a proposed expansion of the buffer zones will allow the government to “crack down harshly and unfairly” no matter the zone’s size.

Rose Docherty was the first individual to be arrested and charged under Scotland’s Abortion Services Act 2024, which criminalizes “influencing the decision of another person to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” at the protected premises. The law created a buffer of about 200 meters around some 30 clinics.

In February 2024, Docherty stood silently outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, holding a sign that read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want” to invite conversation. Since she stood within 200 meters of the Glasgow hospital, law enforcement arrived, handcuffed and arrested her.

Docherty recently addressed her arrest in BBC Scotland’s podcast known as Scotcast.

“I gave consideration to what I was doing … I looked at the law and saw what it said I couldn’t do,” Docherty said, “and thought … I can offer to listen, and if anyone wants to come and speak to me, they can do so, only if they want to come and speak with me.”

The act also criminalizes “harassment, alarm or distress to another person in connection with the other person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” at such premises.

Docherty says that “there was nothing in my conduct or sign that could reasonably be considered harassing, alarming and distressing.”

Docherty spoke with Christian law firm ADF International after her BBC interview. Docherty, reacting to the recent proposition to increase buffer zones, says she believes authorities could target pro-lifers regardless of expanded laws.

“It wouldn’t matter where we stood—201 meters, or 500 meters away—it seems the authorities would still try to crack down harshly and unfairly on individuals because the government simply disagrees with their point of view. This is unjust.”

Parliament member Gillian Mackay of the Scottish Green Party introduced the act, which came into effect in September 2024. In response to Docherty’s arrest, Mackay stated she was “grateful to Police Scotland for acting so quickly … This kind of intimidation has no place in a modern or progressive Scotland.”

Mackay suggested the expansion because of the continuing presence of pro-life advocates protesting near Queen Elizabeth University Hospital while still remaining just outside the zones.

“I think it’s appropriate that we take those concerns seriously and the government take a look at whether an extension is appropriate or not.

“However, before taking such a step, it is essential that ministers are satisfied such an extension is appropriate.”

Ministers, who support the government’s cabinet secretaries, have the ability to expand a buffer zone if it is determined that the zone’s reach is not suitable enough, according to a Scottish government spokeswomen who spoke with BBC.

In a Scotcast episode, Mackay was asked if “performative prayer” with “clasped hands” seen through a window could lead to prosecution. Mackay stated that it “depends on who’s passing the window.”

Already, buffer zone laws have criminalized Christians praying or worshiping inside buffer zones.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce prayed silently near an abortion facility and was arrested twice for doing so within a buffer zone in England.

In another case, a retired Baptist pastor in Northern Ireland preached a Sunday sermon on John 3:16 in an outdoor space inside the buffer zones. Subsequently, he was charged based on Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services Act.

Lois McLatchie Miller, a Scottish spokesperson for ADF International, said it stifles religious freedom.

“The ‘buffer zones’ law is fundamentally flawed when it comes to undermining basic freedoms of speech, thought, and religion,” Miller said. “We all stand firmly against harassment, which is already illegal–but the law goes far beyond that in preventing people from praying or holding consensual conversations in large public areas of Scotland … Less than a year after the bill passing, already, politicians are considering expanding the ‘buffer zone’ area, which would restrict free speech in an even larger public area.”

Photo: ADF International