This week Scotland dropped a criminal lawsuit against a pro-life grandmother seeking peaceful conversation outside of a hospital.
Glasgow native Rose Docherty, 75, was arrested and issued a warning in February 2025 for standing within 200 metres of the city’s Queen Elizabeth II Hospital with a sign that read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”
Docherty was arrested under Scotland’s new buffer zone law, which came into effect last September. The Abortion Services Bill makes it illegal to stand within 200 meters (656 feet) of a hospital for the purpose of “influencing, preventing access, or causing harassment” to women seeking abortions. Offenders can receive fines of up to £10,000.
A State Department spokesman told the Telegraph that it applauds Scotland’s decision to drop the case.
“The United States stands with all those fighting for free speech and religious liberty.”
Docherty says she wasn’t violating the buffer zone.
“Everyone has the right to a consensual conversation. I simply made myself available for a chat, should anybody like to approach me and speak about any matter on their mind. I didn’t breach the buffer zone – I didn’t harass, intimidate, or even seek to influence anyone. I simply stood there, available to speak with love and compassion.”
After her arrest, Docherty was issued a formal warning that required her to admit wrongdoing and refrain from similar actions in the future. She refused to sign it.
This week, a prosecutor for Glasgow notified Ms. Docherty by letter that “on the basis of the current information available to me, I have decided to take no further action… at this time.”
The warning was withdrawn, and authorities agreed to return Docherty’s sign.
The letter noted there was an “obligation on the prosecutor to keep cases under review,” meaning that charges could technically be reintroduced at a later date.
Docherty and her legal counsel, ADF International, are celebrating the development as a win for free speech: “This is a victory not just for me, but for everyone in Scotland who believes we should be free to hold a peaceful conversation,” Docherty said.
“I stood with love and compassion, ready to listen to anyone who wanted to talk. Criminalising kindness has no place in a free society.”
ADF International Legal Counsel Lorcán Price said that “Rose’s case is a stark example of how ‘buffer zone’ laws can be weaponised to silence peaceful expression.”
Scotland’s buffer zone law sparked controversy earlier this year when Vice President JD Vance accused the Scottish government of policing citizens’ thoughts in his address at the Munich Security Conference in February.
“This last October, just a few months ago, the Scottish government began distributing letters to citizens whose houses lay within so-called safe access zones, warning them that even private prayer within their own homes may amount to breaking the law.”
The government denied the accusation, saying the legislation did not target private prayer.
The letters sent to residents did not mention prayer specifically, but warned them against performing offenses “in a private place…if they can be seen or heard within the Zone.”
These could include putting up pro-life signs in your windows or holding a vigil or protest in your front yard, according to the BBC.