A 75-year-old anti-abortion grandmother, Rose Docherty, was arrested in Scotland for protesting abortion outside of a hospital, in a move the U.S State Department called "tyrannical."
She was arrested outside Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, following the passage of Scotland’s sweeping “buffer zone” law, which makes it a crime to harass, intimidate, or influence people outside abortion clinics.
The State Department issued a statement that read:
The arrest of Rose Docherty is another egregious example of the tyrannical suppression of free speech happening across Europe. When 75-year-old grandmothers are being arrested for standing peacefully and offering conversation, common sense and basic civility are under attack. The United States will always speak out against these violations of fundamental rights.
The sign Rose Docherty carried read: “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want."
🚨BREAKING🚨
— ADF International (@ADFIntl) September 27, 2025
75-year-old Rose Docherty has been arrested AGAIN
for holding a sign reading "coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want" within a Scottish "buffer zone"
Rose was kept in a cell for two hours, and refused a chair, despite having a double hip replacement. pic.twitter.com/HizSihMvU3
Docherty was previously arrested in August at the same location, holding the same sign. However, the charges were quickly dropped following a harsh statement from the State Department alongside global outrage.
Her legal counsel, Lorcan Price, said in a statement, "This is not a case about harassment or intimidation… This is simply a grandmother, who held a sign offering to speak to anyone who would like to engage."