Rose Docherty standing peacefully with her sign. (Photo: Alliance Defending Freedom)
A Christian grandmother who was arrested after holding a sign offering assistance to women considering an abortion appeared in court on Friday.
Rose Docherty, 75, was first arrested on 19 February for holding a sign in an abortion clinic buffer zone in Glasgow that read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want”.
She was the first person to be charged under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024, which makes it an offence to harass, obstruct or attempt to influence women or staff within 200 metres of abortion services.
The law has come under fire because of its vague wording, which Gillian Mackay – the MSP who introduced it – admitted could criminalise someone for praying visibly from a window in their home within the zone, “depending on who’s passing by the window.”
After Docherty’s arrest in February, the Procurator Fiscal decided a few months later not to prosecute her.
She was arrested again on 24 September after holding the same sign near an abortion clinic.
She is being supported in her case by the Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF), which said that after her second arrest she was held in custody for several hours and was not given a chair to sit on in her cell, despite having had a double hip replacement. She was later charged and bailed.
Docherty’s hearing is taking place at the Glasgow Sheriff Court. She has previously said she is prepared to go to jail for her actions.
