Grandmother Arrested for Offering Conversation Near Scottish Abortion Clinic—Seriously?

A 74-year-old grandmother was arrested by Scottish police on Thursday for offering conversation to women considering abortions. Her crime? Standing within a designated "buffer zone" that criminalizes pro-life speech. You can't even offer a friendly chat these days?

Just days after Vice President JD Vance cautioned European leaders about escalating censorship at the Munich Security Conference, Rose Docherty was arrested near Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland. Her sign read: "Coercion is a crime, here to talk if you want."

Docherty is the first person charged under The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act, which took effect in September 2024, according to the BBC. This law bans protests or vigils within 200 meters (656 feet) of 30 Scottish clinics offering abortion services. And get this—the law allows for extending the Safe Access Zone if deemed necessary.

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"Everyone has the right to a consensual conversation," Docherty stated. "I simply made myself available for a chat, should anybody like to approach me and speak about any matter on their mind. I didn’t breach the rules of the buffer zone – I didn’t harass, intimidate, or even seek to influence anyone. I simply stood there, available to speak with love and compassion."

She added, "It isn’t right to deprive anyone of the right to take up my offer to talk. And it isn’t right to censor zones within our country from thoughts, beliefs and conversations that authorities may simply disapprove of. Buffer zones aren’t ‘pro-choice’ – they deprive women of the choice to have a chat outside the clinic. That isn’t right."

Police Scotland directed Fox News Digital to its public release, which confirmed that officers responded to reports of protesters on Hardgate Road in Glasgow on February 19, 2025, and arrested a 74-year-old woman for breaching the exclusion zone.

England and Wales have similar laws criminalizing any "influencing" of someone’s decision to "access" abortion services within 150 meters (nearly 500 feet) of an abortion facility. The UK extended its "buffer zone" law nationwide starting October 31.

While proponents say this aims to stop harassment of patients, critics argue it's an affront to free speech. 

Lois McLatchie Miller, a Scottish spokesperson for Alliance Defending Freedom International, told Fox News Digital, "It’s devastating to see an innocent, 74-year-old woman handcuffed and arrested just for offering a consensual conversation... In Scotland and across the UK, authorities have been over-zealous in using ‘buffer zone’ laws to prosecute people just for their thoughts, or for standing peacefully."

She added that the government should clarify that silent prayer and consensual conversation are not crimes.

Last week, Vance spoke about the Safe Access Zones Act, noting that residents within these zones received letters warning against praying in their homes. The Scottish government denies sending such letters, clarifying that the act covers only "intentional or reckless behavior," according to the BBC.

McLatchie Miller argues that the prohibitions extend even inside homes within 200 meters of a facility. A letter to residents states that the law can apply to "activities in a private place (such as a house) within the area… if they can be seen or heard within the Zone and are done intentionally or recklessly."

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"That means, if someone was to ‘recklessly’ influence someone’s decision about abortion from inside their house, they could be committing a crime," she said. "Scottish authorities sent letters to local residents to warn them of this."

Authorities can impose fines up to £10,000 ($12,600) or an unlimited fine for breaching a Safe Access Zone, according to the Scottish government.

Scottish Greens spokesperson for health, Gillian Mackay MSP, who spearheaded the law, told Fox News Digital that nobody should feel intimidated when accessing healthcare and that the law ends "protests, graphic banners and unnerving spectating."

Mackay also claimed that the U.S. government is a "clear threat" to reproductive rights and opposes the "misogynistic and anti-choice agenda of Donald Trump and JD Vance."

PRIEST CHARGED AFTER PRAYING OUTSIDE ABORTION CLINIC DECRIES CRIMINALIZATION OF THOUGHT

Docherty, a leader in the Scottish chapter of the pro-life 40 Days for Life organization, was acting in her personal capacity when arrested. Shawn Carney, the president of the organization, noted that UK buffer zones are stricter than those in the U.S., where there's more free speech in places like Berlin, Moscow, and China than in Glasgow or London. 

"It's your country, you can ban whoever you want," he added. "You can just say: 'You're not allowed in the public square,' but you can't say that and say that you support free speech. So don't say that you're for free speech, you're not because you don't allow it. And so that's my issue with them, they run around as if they're heroes, patting themselves on the back, and they're an embarrassment to the West."