Police in the UK have arrested a 75-year-old woman for standing silently with a placard around her neck bearing the words: “Coercion is a crime. Here to talk, only if you want.”
Rose Docherty was arrested under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024, which imposes a 200-metre buffer zone around any facility that provides abortions—in this case, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
The grandmother of two was initially approached by two male police officers, who asked her what she was doing. She replied: “I am just here, with my sign, offering conversation.”
One of the officers then stated that behaviours potentially in breach of the Safe Access Zones legislation include “handing out leaflets, religious preaching, and silent vigils.”
Docherty was then arrested and searched, with two additional officers arriving on the scene. Two male officers took the 75-year-old by the arms and placed her in the back of a police van. Having recently undergone a double hip replacement, she struggled to get into the van and had to crawl inside.
This is the second time Docherty has been arrested under the law this year, the first being in February.
Reacting to her first arrest, Docherty said: “Everybody has the right to engage in consensual conversation.
“I held my sign with love and compassion, inviting anyone who wants to chat, to do so—and stood peacefully, not approaching anyone.
“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.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said at the time: “Officers attended and a 75-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with a breach of the Safe Access Zone legislation.”
Following her February arrest, Rose received a letter from the Procurator Fiscal requiring her to accept that her actions were unlawful.
The letter read: “…the evidence is sufficient in law to justify my bringing you before the Court. I have decided, however, in all the circumstances of the present case, not to bring proceedings.
“You should note that if a similar report against you is submitted to me in future, and there is sufficient evidence in law to justify my bringing you before the Court, you may be prosecuted.
“If you accept this warning or are deemed to have accepted it, I shall not prosecute you for the above offences.”
Rather than accept the warning, Doherty issued the following statement: “I cannot pretend that what I did was unlawful—I merely offered a chat, particularly in the context of anyone experiencing coercion of any kind—an issue firmly on my heart.
“This is why I reject the warning I was issued by Scottish authorities, with support from ADF International. It isn’t right to deprive anyone of the right to take up my offer to talk—or to restrict me unfairly from carrying out this peaceful, compassionate action.”
Supported by the legal team at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal advocacy group, Doherty rejected the warning. In August 2025, the Procurator Fiscal confirmed the case had been dropped and the warning withdrawn. The authorities also guaranteed that Rose’s sign would be returned to her by Police Scotland.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), a division within the United States Department of State, issued a statement on Rose’s arrest, saying: “Police in Scotland arrested a woman holding a sign offering to talk to people in a restricted ‘buffer zone.’ Freedom of expression needs to be protected. We call on governments, whether in Scotland or around the world, to respect freedom of expression for all.”
The concern was echoed by JD Vance, who in his April 2025 Munich Security Conference speech criticised Scotland’s “buffer zones”.
Scotland is not alone in preventing prayer or silent vigils around abortion facilities. Buffer zone legislation is also in place in England and Wales under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023. It makes it a criminal offence to influence, obstruct, or harass anyone within 150 metres of an abortion clinic. Prayer, including silent prayer, may fall under the law that came into force on 1 May 2024.
(Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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