A quiet Sunday sermon has turned into a high-stakes legal battle in Northern Ireland.
According to Fox News, Clive Johnston, a 76-year-old retired pastor, is set to stand trial on Wednesday over criminal charges tied to preaching outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine — a location covered by a protected abortion buffer zone.
Prosecutors claim Johnston violated the Abortion Services Safe Access Zones Act, a 2023 law that restricts activity within a designated distance of abortion providers.
The case follows an incident on July 7, 2024, when Johnston held a small outdoor service based on John 3:16.
Authorities allege his message amounted to an attempt to “influence a protected person, whether directly or indirectly,” and that he failed to leave the area when ordered to do so.
If convicted, Johnston could face a criminal record and fines totaling thousands of pounds.
According to The Christian Institute — the U.K. religious liberty group supporting Johnston’s defense — the service took place near a hedge, separated from the hospital entrance road by a highway.
They say roughly a dozen people attended, that the pastor never referenced abortion, and that no signage was present.
The group argues the charges are misplaced and represent a dangerous attempt to criminalize public expression of faith.
“Prosecuting Pastor Johnston for preaching ‘God so loved the world’ near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is a shocking new attempt to restrict freedom of religion and freedom of speech in a part of the world where open-air gospel services are a part of the culture,” said Simon Calvert, the institute’s deputy director.
He drew a line between faith and protest. “Christians are pro-life. But preaching the good news about Christ is not the same thing as protesting against abortion,” he said, calling the prosecution “overstepping.”
Calvert warned the case could set a precedent: “If the Gospel can be banned in this public place, where else can it be banned?”
Johnston, who pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing in March, maintains he is eager to defend his actions.
“I am grateful for the kind messages of support I have received from members of the public both here and abroad, and for the prayers being offered up to God about this case by many Christians,” he said in a statement.
The defense has argued that the buffer-zone law conflicts with rights guaranteed under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects religious expression and freedom of conscience.
Johnston’s case unfolds against a wider backdrop of legal battles surrounding prayer, speech, and outreach near abortion facilities across the U.K. Earlier this year, Scottish police arrested 74-year-old Rose Docherty for offering conversation to women near a clinic buffer zone. After the initial charges were dropped, she was arrested a second time months later.
Northern Ireland prosecutors say their decisions are based strictly on evidence and legal standards.
