A 77-year-old retired pastor will be tried in court for the second day on Wednesday after preaching a sermon near a hospital in Northern Ireland. Despite not mentioning abortion in his sermon, the retired pastor, Clive Johnston, is being accused of violating the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland), which outlaws actions aimed at “influencing” or “preventing or impeding” people seeking abortion services within 100 meters of eight abortion service providers in Northern Ireland, a barrier known as a “safe access zone.”
The sermon, which took place across the street from the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, on July 7, 2024, included Johnston singing with a ukulele, telling his life story, and preaching John 3:16. Police body camera footage shows Johnston speaking the verse into a microphone when a policeman interrupts Johnston and tells him, “this is a safe access zone,” and he must stop preaching. He also tells Johnston’s associates that it’s illegal to film in a safe access zone and they must stop (despite the legislation not prohibiting filming in these areas). Johnston politely tells the officer he was not violating the law because he did not mention abortion in his sermon, and refuses to leave. This prompts the officer to issue a warning to Johnston that “police may remove you, and if you resist, you may be removed and liable to prosecution.”
Johnston then provides his personal information, accepts that he will receive a summons in the mail, and thanks the policemen for being “courteous.”
Johnston faces two charges under the Safe Access Zones Act and is accused of “influencing” someone seeking an abortion, even though court filings did not allege that he mentioned abortion in his sermon, nor were there any abortion-related placards or banners present, reports The Christian Post.
The grandfather of seven could face a fine of up to 2,500 pounds ($3,375). Simon Calvert, deputy director for public affairs at The Christian Institute, a nonprofit supporting Johnston in the case, said that “prosecuting someone for preaching John 3:16 near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is an outrageous restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech.”
In a statement to The Telegraph ahead of the trial, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, “The United States is still monitoring many buffer zone cases in the UK, as well as other acts of censorship across Europe. The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations.”
While Johnston is the first person to be accused of violating the Safe Access Zones Act by preaching a sermon unrelated to abortion, he is not the first person to face prosecution for religious expression near hospitals in Britain. Last year, Rose Docherty, a 75-year-old Glaswegian grandmother, faced prosecution under similar legislation in Scotland for carrying a placard outside a hospital that said: “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” She was detained, arrested, charged, and released on bail. Similarly, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was criminally charged in January after being accused of praying silently in her head outside of an abortion clinic in England.
Johnston’s case essentially asks if a Christian in Britain can be guilty of “influencing” someone seeking an abortion, just because another person might be able to guess their views on the topic, even if they are speaking about something entirely unrelated. If simply quoting one of the most famous verses of the Bible can now be deemed a criminal act because of where it is said, then British citizens are in real danger of losing their fundamental freedoms.
