Retired pastor appeals conviction over preaching in abortion buffer zone at Causeway Hospital, Coleraine
A retired pastor was wrongly convicted for preaching within an abortion buffer zone because it cannot be established any protected person was present, the Court of Appeal has heard.
Counsel for the 78-year-old argued he should not have faced criminal punishment over a brief sermon which did not refer to termination services.
Clive Johnston is appealing his convictions for breaching the law during an open-air service near Causeway Hospital in Coleraine on July 7, 2024.
A safe access zone operates at the facilities as part of new legislation which prohibits anti-abortion protests directly outside clinics offering the services.
Earlier this year Johnston, from Melmount Road in Sion Mills, Co Tyrone, was found guilty of doing an act with either intent, or being reckless about whether it would influence a protected person attending the premises.
He was also convicted of failing to comply with a direction to leave a safe access zone.
A judge at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court imposed fines of £450 after finding he had tested the law to the point of breaking it.
Johnston, a former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, is seeking to overturn the verdict that he broke the law.
The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 is aimed at shielding anyone attending or working at specific clinics from harassment, alarm or distress.
At least one person protected by the legislation is believed to have been at the hospital’s facilities at some point on the same day Johnston was preaching in the vicinity.
But his barrister, John Larkin KC, insisted there is a legal requirement to establish this coincided with the sermon.
“There was no proof of any person attending at the relevant time,” he submitted.
Mr Larkin described it as a case aimed at preventing a “doubtful penalisation”.
During exchanges counsel accepted language used in the Act may have been badly drafted.
But he stressed: “It is not for the court to take out an editorial pencil and effectively re-write it.”
Johnston has also alleged a failure to properly recognise and balance his rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion against those of any notional person who may have been attempting to access the services.
Mr Larkin told the court all he took part in was a short proclamation of the core Christian message.
“It was a gospel service in which no reference was made to abortion, it simply made reference to the love of God,” he added.
“It cannot come within the mischief of the statute if there is no evidence of anyone even being capable of being affected by it.”
Tony McGleenan KC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, stressed how buffer areas were created to protect those seeking abortion services and advice from anyone offering either support or harassment.
“The zone is meant to have a prophylactic effect so individuals know they will be insulated from (that) behaviour,” he said.
“There isn't a requirement for an actual person to be in the safe zone at the time of the behaviour in question.”
Mr McGleenan also suggested the legislative purpose would be “hollowed out” if the alleged offences had to coincide with someone being physically present.
Reserving judgement, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan pledged: “We will provide a ruling as soon as possible.”