- Christian grandmother Rose Docherty was arrested and criminally charged for holding a sign reading “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want” within 200m of a Glasgow hospital
- “The arrest of Rose Docherty is another egregious example of the tyrannical suppression of free speech happening across Europe”, U.S. State Department has warned
Above: Rose Docherty was arrested after offering consensual conversation in a buffer zone in September 2025.
GLASGOW (17 December 2025) – Glaswegian grandmother Rose Docherty will appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at her First Hearing on Friday, having been criminally charged for holding a sign within 200m of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, reading:
“Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”
In Scotland, “buffer zones” are enforced within 200m of every hospital, forbidding harassment, intimidation, and “influencing” of anyone seeking to access abortion services.
“I should not be treated as a criminal for inviting people to chat with me – lending a listening ear."
Despite only having stood peacefully and silently offering consensual conversation and not having approached any individual, nor making any statement on abortion – Docherty has been charged with breaching the “buffer zone.”
Following the arrest, which was seen on a viral video across the world, the U.S. State Department expressed concern:
“The arrest of Rose Docherty is another egregious example of the tyrannical suppression of free speech happening across Europe.
“When 75-year-old grandmothers are being arrested for standing peacefully and offering conversation, common sense and basic civility are under attack.
“The United States will always speak out against these violations of fundamental rights.”
After her arrest, Docherty was held in custody for several hours. She was refused a chair to sit on in her cell, despite making it known that she had a double hip replacement.
Docherty was charged and released on bail. Stringent bail conditions prevent her from attending an area marked out to be wider than the initial “buffer zone” area, in a move the legal team at ADF International call “disproportionate”.
Reacting to her arrest, Rose Docherty said:
“Everybody has the right to engage in consensual conversation. I held my sign with love and compassion, inviting anyone who wants to chat, to do so – and stood peacefully, not approaching anyone.
“I should not be treated as a criminal for inviting people to chat with me – lending a listening ear. Conversation is not forbidden on the streets of Glasgow. And yet, this is the second time I have been arrested for doing just that.”
Legal Counsel for ADF International, Jeremiah Igunnubole commented:
“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.
“This is not a case about harassment, intimidation or violent protest – this is simply a grandmother, who held a sign offering to speak to anyone who would like to engage.”
The law’s architect, Gillian Mackay MSP, admitted on BBC Scotland earlier this year that the vague prohibitions in the buffer zones law could criminalise someone for praying visibly from a window in their home within the zone, “depending on who’s passing by the window.”
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance highlighted this law as a particular matter for concern in his Munich Security Conference speech in February of this year.
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