Overview
- Charges against 75-year-old Rose Docherty were thrown out Monday at Glasgow Sheriff Court after the sheriff said prosecutors failed to disclose an offence and offered no concrete evidence that anyone in the zone was influenced.
- The case was dismissed on a basis that lets it be revived, and prosecutors said they will review the ruling before deciding whether new evidence could justify reopening it.
- Docherty was detained outside Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in September holding a sign that read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want,” and she had a similar arrest in February 2025 that did not lead to a prosecution.
- Scotland’s 2024 Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act creates 200‑metre areas around providers and makes it a criminal offence to protest, harass, or attempt to influence people seeking or providing abortion services within those zones.
- ADF International, which represented Docherty, called the outcome a free‑speech win and urged repeal of the law, while the bill’s sponsor, Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay, said buffer zones remain essential to protect privacy and reduce pressure at clinic entrances.