A pro-life activist was confronted by law enforcement for holding a silent vigil outside an abortion clinic in Scotland as the treatment of pro-life activists in the U.K. is receiving renewed attention following a speech by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
In a post on X Tuesday, British pro-life activist Lois McLatchie Miller shared video footage of an encounter between pro-life activist Rose Docherty and law enforcement officials in Scotland, who were insisting that she was breaking the law by holding a silent vigil outside an abortion clinic and holding a sign reading “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”
In the video, the law enforcement officials listed “silent vigils” as one of several items that violated a Scottish law protecting so-called “Safe Access Zones” around abortion clinics. As cited on the Scottish government’s website, as of Sept. 24, 2024, pro-life demonstrations and even silent prayers are banned near Safe Access Zones.
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After law enforcement explained to Docherty that “standing there saying nothing” amounts to a “silent vigil,” the pro-life activist insisted that she was doing nothing wrong: “I’m just pointing out that coercion is against the law and that if anyone wants to come and speak to me, they can. I’m not doing anything else.”
The officers remained unconvinced, stating: “There’s obviously a reason why you’re here, why you’re in this area. I’m aware that you have been here protesting against abortion before, so I don’t understand why you’re in this area again protesting the same thing.”
After one of the officers advised Docherty to “move away from this area,” she asked if she would be “committing an offense” if she stayed. One of the officers answered in the affirmative. She then reiterated her case, saying, “I’m just here to speak to anyone if they want to speak to me.”
“That’s what I’m doing standing here, saying that coercion is a crime, and if anyone wants to speak to me, they can,” she stressed. “So, is that an offense?”
Docherty’s confrontation with local Scottish police comes just days after Vance condemned the prosecution of conservatives for protesting abortion at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany last week. As Vance’s remarks suggested, Docherty is not the only pro-life activist in the United Kingdom who has been targeted by law enforcement for engaging in silent prayer outside an abortion clinic.
Vice President JD Vance rebukes Europe’s anti-Christian discrimination in Munich speech
.@JDVance (@VP) blasts arrest of British Army vet Adam Smith-Connor (@ChooseLifeSoton@ADF_UK) for silently praying. https://t.co/NcJ7X44Nvlpic.twitter.com/3Nr94ygNOR
— Melissa Barnhart (@MelBarnhart) February 16, 2025
Vance specifically mentioned the case of Adam Smith-Connor, a pro-life activist who was fined the equivalent of $11,335 for praying silently outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, England. Smith-Connor described himself as “extremely thankful” for Vance’s speech, where the vice president asserted that “nobody should be criminalized for their prayers, their mere thoughts.”
Pro-life activist Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has also repeatedly found herself targeted by law enforcement for engaging in silent prayer outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham, England. Local police recently asked Vaughan-Spruce to leave the area despite an October 2024 guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service stating that silent prayer outside an abortion clinic is “not necessarily” a crime.
Vaughan-Spruce had previously been awarded the equivalent of $16,858 for “unjust treatment” as compensation for two previous arrests over her silent prayer outside the abortion clinic.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
