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.”
