A retired pastor has been convicted of breaching Northern Ireland’s abortion buffer zone laws, having preached an open-air sermon near a hospital.
Clive Johnston, 78 from County Tyrone, shared the message of John 3:16 opposite Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital in July 2024.
The former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland was found guilty of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act: of “conducting a protest” which could be “influencing a protected person” in a buffer zone; and failing to comply with a direction to leave.
Buffer zones around hospitals in Northern Ireland, and similar laws elsewhere in the UK, are designed to prevent protests or behaviour that could influence people accessing abortion services within a set distance of clinics.
Johnston said he was preaching the gospel and not protesting. Speaking after the verdict, he called it a “dark day for Christian freedom”.
The retired pastor said: “We held a small, open air Sunday service near a hospital. We made no reference whatsoever to the issue of abortion. And yet the buffer zones law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offence. And at 78 years of age I find myself, for the first time, convicted of a crime.
“If someone is out there causing trouble, stirring up violence, harassing or verbally attacking people, then, absolutely, go ahead and prosecute them. But I wasn’t doing any of those things as the police video shows and as everyone involved in this case accepts.”
District Judge Peter King said the pastor had “tested the law to the point where he broke the law”. He described Johnston as “a man of strong religious belief and good character”.
The court was told Johnston “was motivated by two reasons: to test the legislation and to influence anyone who heard him towards the Bible and the Christian message generally”.
A £450 fine has been imposed, covering both counts.
The Christian Institute, who have supported Johnston, has suggested there may be an appeal.
Ciarán Kelly, institute director, described the conviction as “creeping censorship”.
“Despite assurances to the contrary when this legislation was being considered, we now see that an already controversial and deeply unjust law has now been selectively applied to criminalise gospel preaching”, he added.
