Glasgow Grandmother Arrested Again For Sign Offering Conversation
75-year-old grandmother and Christian prayer group leader Rose Docherty has been arrested a second time and criminally charged for holding a sign reading “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want” within 200 metres of an abortion facility in Glasgow.
On 27 September 2025, Rose Docherty, a 75-year-old Christian and leader of the pro-life prayer group 40 Days for Life, was arrested outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for holding a sign offering consensual conversation. Although she stood quietly and did not approach anyone, she was charged with breaching Scotland’s “buffer zone” law, which prohibits actions considered as “influencing” near abortion facilities.
This marks the second time Docherty has been arrested for the same sign. In February 2025, she became the first person charged under the new legislation (as previously reported by OIDAC). While that case was dropped in August, authorities proceeded to charge her again in September, citing the same offence.
Docherty was held in custody for several hours and denied a chair in her cell, despite informing officers that she had undergone a double hip replacement. She was later released on bail.
Commenting on her arrest, Docherty said: “I should not be treated as a criminal for inviting people to chat with me – lending a listening ear.”
Source: OIDAC; ADF International
Photo: ADF International