Judge drops charges against U.K. grandmother arrested under abortion center buffer zone law

A U.K. judge dismissed criminal charges against a grandmother arrested for breaching a buffer zone around an abortion center. Officials charged Rose Docherty, 75, after she held up a sign inside the zone in Glasgow that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” The dismissal on Monday represented a victory for free speech, said Alliance Defending Freedom International, or ADF, which represented Docherty.

The dismissal proved that peacefully offering consensual conversation on a public street can never be a crime, Docherty said in a statement. Officials should tackle real crime in Glasgow, and not censor a Catholic grandmother, she added.

Why did officials arrest Docherty? In September, Docherty was charged with two counts of alleged “influencing” within roughly 600 feet of an abortion center. She was accused of breaking a 2024 law that criminalizes any attempts to influence a mother’s decision outside the center, according to ADF. But the legal group contended that Docherty did not approach anyone or engage in any harassing or intimidating behavior while in the buffer zone. Instead, the charges against her violated Docherty’s right to freedom of expression, ADF said. Docherty added that the law served as a way to impose censorship on her speech.

The judge dismissed Docherty’s charges because there was no evidence that she influenced someone within the zone, ADF said.

Has Docherty been arrested before? This was the second time Docherty faced charges for holding up her sign within the buffer zone. She was arrested in February 2025, but the prosecutor later decided not to proceed with prosecution, ADF said.

Dig deeper: Read my report for Liberties on a U.K. retiree fined for holding a sign in a buffer zone.