Scottish prosecutors have dropped a free speech case against a 75-year-old woman who was targeted earlier this year for offering pro-life conversations to pregnant women in a buffer zone outside an abortion facility in Glasgow.
Zeale previously reported that Rose Docherty was arrested for holding a sign that read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want” in a “buffer zone” around an abortion facility. A public prosecutor then sent her a warning letter requiring her to state that her actions were illegal, and she refused.
Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a legal nonprofit, she successfully challenged the government’s suppression of her speech. ADF International stated in a news release that the prosecutor this week dropped the case and withdrew the warning.
In the release, 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.”
She continued, “I stood with love and compassion, ready to listen to anyone who wanted to talk. Criminalising kindness has no place in a free society.”
According to ADF International, the U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor had become concerned about Docherty’s case in February, calling for freedom of expression to be protected in Scotland and around the world.
Lorcan Price, Irish barrister and legal counsel for ADF International, said that even though Docherty’s rights were ultimately protected, her case “shows the urgent need to protect fundamental freedoms in Scotland.”
Zeale previously reported that other pro-life advocates have been affected by buffer zones around abortion facilities in the UK. Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has been targeted three times by police for silently praying outside an abortion facility; Livia Tossici-Bolt faced criminal charges earlier this year for holding a sign reading “Here to talk if you want” inside a buffer zone; and Adam Smith-Connor, an army veteran, was convicted in 2024 of breaching the buffer zone while he silently prayed for his son, who died from abortion 23 years ago.