Christian prayer leader first charged under Scotland's buffer zone law
Rose Docherty, a 74-year-old Christian and leader of the pro-life prayer group "40 Days for Life", has become the first person to be arrested under Scotland's new abortion 'buffer zone' law for holding a silent vigil near a Glasgow hospital. The law, which criminalises any attempt to 'influence' abortion decisions within 200 metres of a facility, raises fundamental rights concerns. Pro-life groups plan to hold upcoming prayer vigils only outside the buffer zones, but politicians are already pushing for further extensions of the zones.
In July 2024, Scotland's highly restrictive abortion 'buffer zone' law came into force, creating a 200-metre zone around abortion facilities where it is an offence to 'influence' the decision of anyone entering the facility. As reported by OIDAC Europe, this new law raises several serious concerns about its impact on fundamental rights.
On 19 February, Rose Docherty became the first person to be arrested and charged under this new legislation. The 74-year-old Christian and '40 Days for Life' leader was approached by police officers who told her she was suspected of holding a 'silent vigil' in a buffer zone around the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. Ms Docherty was holding a sign which read 'Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want'.
In response to this incident, and in preparation for the upcoming prayer initative during lent, the pro-life organisation 40 Days For Life said they intend to hold the prayer vigils only outside the 200m exclusion zones. However, Gilian Mackay, the MSP who originally introduced the 'buffer zone' bill, told the BBC's Scotcast podcast on February 24 that the prayer vigils were 'still too close'. These comments are particularly worrying as the Scottish law includes a mechanism for extending the 'buffer zone' that doesn't require a change to the law itself.
MSP Mackay also referred to the campaign as '40 days of harassment' and said she hoped it would 'come to an end permanently'. In response to criticism that Scottish law could prohibit people from praying in their own homes, she admitted that if someone can be seen praying through the window of their own home, a potential breach of the law 'depends on who is passing the window'.
Source: bbc.com, scotsman.com, 40daysforlifeinternational.com
Image: x.com (Philip Wegmann)