(LifeSiteNews) — All charges have been dropped against a 75-year-old Scottish grandmother for holding a sign within 200 meters of a hospital that commits abortions, in violation of Scotland’s abortion “buffer zone” law.
Rose Docherty was arrested by police in February while standing silently outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, holding a sign with the message: “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”
Video footage shows officers telling her she was “conducting a silent vigil” that was a crime under the so-called “Safe Access Zones Act,” which took effect in September 2024 and establishes 200-meter (656-foot) “buffer zones” around abortion centers in Scotland. The law prohibits behavior considered likely to “influence someone’s private decision to use abortion services, prevent or get in the way of someone using abortion services (or) harass or distress someone trying to use abortion services.”
When footage of Docherty’s arrest emerged, the behavior of the police officers was slammed as “shameful” and a “disgrace.”
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services (COPFS) recently said it attentively reviewed Docherty’s case and would not pursue further legal action.
“This is a victory not just for me but for everyone in Scotland who believes we should be free to hold a peaceful conversation,” Docherty said. “I stood with love and compassion, ready to listen to anyone who wanted to talk. Criminalizing kindness has no place in a free society.” She added, “I feel it’s a victory for common sense.”
The U.S. Department of State celebrated the decision to drop charges against Docherty.
“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,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to The Telegraph.
READ: JD Vance calls out ‘crazy’ British arrests of pro-lifers silently praying near abortion centers
Asked by BBC Scotland News if she would return to hold a sign outside the hospital, Docherty said, “Life moves on for people and I’ll make decisions as and when I feel like I want to do something, but I don’t feel that I’m constrained by being afraid.”
She previously told the BBC’s Scotcast that she was “prepared to go to prison” for holding her sign near the hospital.
