A Scottish grandmother charged for silently holding a sign offering conversations with women considering abortions had her first hearing in Glasgow Sheriff Court.
In September, Rose Docherty was charged under the Abortion Services Act 2024, which criminalized “harassment, alarm or distress to another person in connection with the other person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” within the zone premises.
During the Dec. 19 hearing, the prosecution withdrew bail conditions which had barred Docherty, 75, from standing in certain areas outside the buffer zone. Law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, which is defending Docherty in the case, had described the bail conditions as “disproportionate.”
In February 2025, Docherty stood silently within 200 meters of Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. The hospital contained a maternity ward in which abortions are performed. Docherty’s sign did not directly address abortion; it simply stated, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” Docherty was arrested and informed that prosecution could be avoided if she acknowledged that her actions were unlawful and if she agreed to refrain from breaking the buffer zone law again.
However, Docherty refused, claiming her actions were protected by her free speech rights.
Although the Procurator Fiscal chose to not prosecute her, Docherty was again arrested in September for holding the same sign near an abortion clinic. After being held in custody, she was charged and released on bail. The bail conditions expanded the zones for Docherty, thus preventing her from engaging in such actions in the expanded areas.
“I can’t believe I am here today,” Docherty said after the hearing. “I simply stood, in love and compassion, offering consensual conversation to anyone who wanted to engage. Nobody should be criminalized just for offering a chat. I’d like to thank my legal team, and all who came to be with me today, as well as all those others around the world who have voiced their support. Conversation is not a crime on the streets of Glasgow.
Lois McLatchie Miller, Scottish spokesperson for ADF International, stated that the case is not about “harassment, intimidation or violent protest.”
“It is not a crime to have a chat on the streets of Glasgow,” Miller agreed. “Rose merely held a sign offering consensual conversations to other adults in the area. It’s deeply concerning that Scottish policing resources are being ploughed into arresting and prosecuting a peaceful grandmother offering to speak to people in public, rather than focusing on the problems caused by real crime in Glasgow.”
The case is scheduled to be heard again on January 13.
