Clive Johnston, a retired Baptist pastor in Northern Ireland, is facing fines and a criminal record for preaching a Sunday sermon on John 3:16. The charge is based on the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act, which makes it illegal to impede, record, influence or cause harassment, alarm or distress to those seeking abortion services in a buffer zone.
Johnston, 76, preached the open-air sermon on July 7, 2024. The former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland sang hymns with a congregation of 12 near Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital, which offers abortion services. A dual carriageway blocked their worship meeting from the hospital, located on the edge of one of Northern Ireland’s eight abortion “buffer zones.” The zones range from 100 to 150 meters from abortion facilities.
Not only did Johnston not mention abortion, no one during the service addressed the issue. Yet police appeared at the site and asked Johnston to leave. Johnston obeyed but was later notified that he was being prosecuted under the Abortion Services Act and must appear in court. Police accused him of violating the Abortion Services Act by intentionally trying to “influence” people seeking and accessing an abortion service at the nearby hospital. Authorities also charged him for not leaving the vicinity immediately. Represented by The Christian Institute, Johnston will face a brief preliminary hearing on March 21. His penalty would include a criminal record and potentially thousands of pounds in fines.
Simon Calvert, deputy director of The Christian Institute, believes criminalizing Gospel preaching through the act is a violation of freedom of religion and speech.
“Should a law designed to stop abortion protests be used to criminalize Gospel preaching?” Calvert said. “… Prosecuting someone for preaching John 3:16 near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is an outrageous restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech. It’s just not reasonable or rational to suggest that preaching the Gospel, with no reference to abortion, is a protest against abortion. The police and the Public Prosecution Service are over-stepping the mark.”
Calvert warns that if the court rules the act can bar a grandfather of seven from practicing his beliefs, the court can criminalize other citizens for practicing freedom of speech in buffer zones.
“If prosecutors succeed in getting a conviction against Clive for preaching about God’s love, what will that mean for other forms of non-abortion-related speech in these zones?” Calvert said. “… The Christian Institute is backing this case because there is a vital principle at stake. If the Gospel can be banned in this public place, where else can it be banned? The authorities do not seem to have thought through the human rights implications of their decision to prosecute.”
