Scottish Grandmother Arrested Again for Peaceful Pro-Life Witness

12.11.2025

74-year-old Rose Docherty has been arrested for a second time in Glasgow for holding a sign that read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want” near an abortion facility according to ADF International. The incident occurred within a designated buffer zone around Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where such expressions are now criminalised under Scotland’s exclusion zone law, enacted in September 2024. 

(Image credit: ADF International)

Docherty, who previously had charges dropped after her first arrest earlier this year, stood quietly and did not approach anyone. Despite her peaceful stance and physical limitations, she was detained by four officers and held in a cell without a chair for two hours. She is now banned from entering not only the buffer zone but a wider surrounding area.

Her arrest has sparked international criticism. The US State Department condemned the action as a “tyrannical suppression of free speech,” while Vice President JD Vance warned that even private prayer visible from a window could be criminalised under the law. Legal experts and pro-life advocates argue that such laws target peaceful individuals rather than addressing genuine public safety concerns.