The dismissal of charges against Scottish grandmother, Rose Docherty, is welcome news for all who cherish liberty. This 75-year-old woman was dragged through the courts for peacefully holding a sign offering conversation, ‘Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.’ She did not harass, obstruct or intimidate anyone. Yet the machinery of the state was deployed against her. Thankfully, the court has now thrown the case out.
Christians should be glad for this decision. But we should not be naïve. The case was dismissed pro loco et tempore, meaning prosecutors may yet seek to revive it if they can later produce evidence that someone seeking abortion services was within the zone at the relevant time. This is not a settled triumph, but a warning shot.
Even so, one fact stands out starkly. Prosecutors admitted they presently had no evidence that any such person existed, let alone that anyone had been ‘influenced’. That matters enormously. These laws are sold to the public as necessary protections for vulnerable women seeking medical services. But when the state prosecutes first and searches for a complainant later, it exposes the true purpose: not protection, but suppression. The target is peaceful pro-life speech.
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