The U.S. government has called the arrest of a pro-life activist in Scotland for breaching the country’s buffer zone laws “tyrannical.”
Rose Docherty was arrested by four police officers in Glasgow on Sept. 24 for allegedly violating the law on buffer zones near abortion clinics.
She was detained by police outside Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital while holding a sign that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”
“The arrest of Rose Docherty is another egregious example of the tyrannical suppression of free speech happening across Europe,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
“When 75-year-old grandmothers are being arrested for standing peacefully and offering conversation, common sense and basic civility are under attack. The United States will always speak out against these violations of fundamental rights.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed the arrest to The Epoch Times.
“Officers attended, and a 75-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with a breach of the Safe Access Zone legislation. A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal, and she is due to appear in court at a later date,” the spokeswoman said via email.
Docherty is supported by ADF UK, the British branch of U.S. faith-based legal advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom.
It is the second time that Docherty has been arrested. In August, Scottish authorities dropped their case against Docherty for holding the same sign in the same place. She was the first person to be charged under the law.
“I held my sign with love and compassion, inviting anyone who wants to chat, to do so—and stood peacefully, not approaching anyone,” Docherty said.
“I should not be treated as a criminal for inviting people to chat with me—lending a listening ear. Conversation is not forbidden on the streets of Glasgow. And yet, this is the second time I have been arrested for doing just that.”
The United States has expressed free speech concerns over the criminal prosecutions of pro-life activists in the UK.
Before her conviction, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), an office within the U.S. Department of State, said that the United States and the UK share a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression.”
Since 2024, buffer zones around abortion clinics have come into force in England and Wales, with anyone found in breach of the law facing unlimited fines.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish government told The Epoch Times by email that the safe access zones are “designed to safeguard a woman’s right to access healthcare and protect their right to dignity and respect when they need it most.”
She said that people continue to “have the right to protest and to free speech, however, no one has the right to harass women, or to try to influence without consent their decision to access healthcare, or to impede their access to it in any way.”