thought crime

Scottish Grandma Charged for Breaching ‘Thought Crime’ Laws Pro-Abortion Activists Say Don’t Exist

27 February 2025

3.3 MINS

A Scottish grandmother has been arrested for breaking thought crime laws that abortion activists say don’t exist.

Police arrested, then charged, Rose Docherty around 2 pm on 19 February for breaching Scotland’s abortion buffer zones, with her silent prayers and quiet protest.

The 74-year-old was denounced to police after being spotted standing quietly on public property across from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

According to the police report, Docherty was standing on Hardgate Road, with what had been reported to them as a group of protestors.

Hardly a Threat

Video of her arrest filmed by the Scottish Family Party shows Docherty standing alone.

Although the road sits outside the QEU Hospital precinct, the road is part of a 200-metre zone that bans pro-life prayer, and counselling for both parents and the pre-born.

As the official Scottish Government map shows, at least seven housing estates are also devoured by the anti-life “don’t pray, don’t protest” buffer zone’s blue cloud of death.

Scotland abortion buffer zone map

Lies

Police arresting Docherty unintentionally painted a clown face on abortion activists.

Activists had spent the better part of a week smearing critics as misinformation spreaders.

Chief on their hitlist was United States Vice President J.D. Vance for pointing out that the U.K. and Europe’s “thought crime buffer zones” were evidence “free speech was in retreat”.

Vance even cited formal information the Scottish government sent to residents within the buffer zone in September.

The letter strongly implied that prayer within housing estates swallowed up by the abortion protection zone could be considered a crime.

Word for word, the paragraph reads:

“Activities in private places (such as a house) within the area between the protected premises and the boundary zone could be an offence if they can be seen or heard within the zone, and are done intentionally, or recklessly.”

Additionally, the government encourages people to actively seek out, and report pro-life prayers, protests, counselling, conversations, and/or content.

Twisting Facts

Stretching in an attempt to catch Vance out on his facts, Scottish Newspaper The National issued an embarrassing grab for a “gotcha moment”, shouting, “No arrests had been made under the buffer zone.”

When they eventually reported on Docherty’s arrest, rather than acknowledge the war on free speech, The National argued that “US groups were waging war on Scotland’s pre-born termination buffer zones.”

The National was accommodating false claims made by Greens MP Gillian Mackay, who tried to frame Vance’s criticisms as a personal attack on “her abortion rights”.

Not satisfied with making Vance’s comments all about her, Mackay said she had written to the US Ambassador demanding they correct Vance’s “misinformation“.

Spamming X, Mackay dug in, expanding on earlier assertions that Vance’s comments were “grossly misleading“.

The “abortion is healthcare” Greens member for Central Scotland hypocritically accused Vance of putting lives at risk by “promoting lies”.

Here was a member of the Scottish parliament suggesting that “more needed to be done” to keep pro-life prayers and counsellors away from those she’s convinced have a right to turn the womb into a tomb.

All of this was said, while touting terms like “human rights” and “healthcare”.

Distraction from the Real Crisis

Challenging the Greens MP, Alliance Defending Freedom communications officer Lois McLatchie Miller shed light on Mackay’s militancy.

Miller rightly pointed out that Mackay had originally authored the 2024 bill creating buffer zones around pregnancy termination mills.

Mackay had also rejected amendments which would have ensured “protection for ‘reasonable behaviour’ – like silent prayer.”

Rose Docherty does not stand alone.

In reply to The National, Lous McLathie Miller said, “The National’s attempt to mischaracterise Rose Docherty’s actions as anything short of peaceful and charitable shows a disgraceful lack of journalistic integrity.

“Deflecting attention to overseas distracts from the real issues Scotland faces regarding a skyrocketing abortion rate – a symptom of women in crisis.”

Miller’s great point doesn’t go far enough.

Mackay’s frantic, militant defence of her own abortion laws isn’t just a deflection — it’s projection.

The Scottish Greens’ reactiveness doesn’t just betray arrogance; they reveal a real fear of people waking up to the true intention and target of these laws.

If two patients enter a hospital, and only one leaves alive because the second has been denied the right to life, we can neither call that healthcare nor the protection of human rights.

The brute fact is that the Greens are claiming Vance is guilty of misinformation, when their own very ideology is built upon abusing language to silence dissent and, in this case, justify mass murder on an industrial scale.

___

Republished with thanks to Caldron Pool.

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4 Comments

  1. Warwick Marsh 27 February 2025 at 1:21 pm - Reply

    Great article Rod!!!!

  2. H Harrison 27 February 2025 at 2:14 pm - Reply

    Appreciate this article. One would think that there would be great embarrassment that such a woman could be arrested! A question – do these “law makers” think there is a God who answers prayer?

    • Rod 27 February 2025 at 2:24 pm - Reply

      That’s always an interesting point to raise. Prayer is God-given permission to petition and protest, so if we acknowledge the spiritual warfare aspect at work here, these bureaucrats are perhaps unwitting participates in the devil’s acknowledgement that there is power in prayer. They wouldn’t see themselves as saying prayer has power, though – they’d laugh that off. I think the better position is to argue that the state policing prayer, is overreach. Especially so when they say we have to go to them for permission to pray; or think for that matter.

  3. Countess Antonia Maria Violetta Scrivanich 2 March 2025 at 5:11 am - Reply

    Rose , an elderly lady of great courage+ breeding who braved the bitter cold to save the lives of the unborn+to support the mothers-to-be . Did the police really have to handcuff her? Rose does not look to me like the sort who would kick , scratch ,spit, mouth expletives . Handfcuffed to humiliate !Ridiculous infringement of Human Rights, ie that the legislation covers a massive housing area in which verbal+ silent prayer is illegal inside + out the buildings ! Scotland has degenerated into a Muslim-Ruled (First Minister )country which would make Stalin proud .The once strict Scottish Presbyterians, now hate Christianity + have high abortion statistics , ie are commiting self-suicide . Soon Scotland will be Muslim. This is what the Marxist Greens have in store for us in Australia!

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