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A retired U.K. pastor will stand trial Wednesday, facing criminal charges for preaching a gospel sermon inside a protected abortion buffer zone.
Clive Johnston, 76, faces two charges under Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services Safe Access Zones Act for conducting a religious service based on John 3:16 near Causeway Hospital in Coleraine on July 7, 2024, according to a press release from The Christian Institute.
Prosecutors accuse Johnston of “influencing a protected person, whether directly or indirectly,” by conducting a “protest” near the hospital, where abortions are performed, in violation of the 2023 law. He is also accused of failing to leave the safe access zone when directed.
The law bans “anti-abortion protests and other behaviors” within a buffer spanning 100 to 250 meters from each entrance or exit of an abortion provider.
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Retired pastor Clive Johnston, 76, is being prosecuted on allegations he breached a safe access zone by preaching a sermon on John 3:16 near the Causeway Hospital, Coleraine, on July 7, 2024. (The Christian Institute)
According to The Christian Institute, a U.K.-based religious liberty nonprofit supporting Johnston’s legal defense, Johnston did not mention abortion during the service and no anti-abortion signs were present.
The group argues the law is being used to criminalize gospel preaching in the U.K.
“Prosecuting Pastor Johnston for preaching ‘God so loved the world’ near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is a shocking new attempt to restrict freedom of religion and freedom of speech in a part of the world where open-air gospel services are a part of the culture,” said Simon Calvert, deputy director of The Christian Institute.
“Christians are pro-life. But preaching the good news about Christ is not the same thing as protesting against abortion,” he continued, accusing police and prosecutors of “overstepping.”
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Abortion buffer zone laws in the U.K. have come under scrutiny from religious liberty groups, who argue they criminalize religious expression. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
“There is a vital principle at stake,” Calvert added. “If the Gospel can be banned in this public place, where else can it be banned?”
He said about a dozen people attended the Sunday service, held near a hedge and separated from the hospital entrance road by a divided highway.
If convicted, Johnston faces a criminal record and potential fines totaling thousands of pounds, the group said.
He is scheduled to appear at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court for trial Wednesday.
New laws in the UK ban protesters from gathering within 200 meters of clinics where abortions are carried out. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
“I am grateful for the kind messages of support I have received from members of the public both here and abroad, and for the prayers being offered up to God about this case by many Christians,” Johnston said in a statement, adding that he looks forward to defending himself in court.
At a preliminary hearing in March, Johnston pleaded not guilty to charges of seeking to “influence” people accessing the hospital’s abortion services and for not immediately leaving the area when asked to do so by police.
According to the press release, his defense barrister, Aaron Thompson, told the court that the buffer-zone legislation conflicts with protections for religious expression and freedom of conscience enshrined under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
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Demonstrators hold an ‘abortion clinic buffer zone’ protest outside the Scottish parliament on Sept. 24, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Johnston is not the first Christian prosecuted under the law.
In February, Scottish police arrested 74-year-old grandmother Rose Docherty for offering conversation to women contemplating abortions inside a buffer zone. Prosecutors dropped the case in August, but arrested and charged her again in September over a similar incident.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom UK, Docherty was arrested and prosecuted for holding a sign within 200 meters of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” She was detained for several hours before being charged and released on bail, the legal group said in a press release.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it does not comment on named individuals in criminal cases.
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The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland did not immediately respond to Digital’s request for comment.
