Mother of four Claire Brennan to appear in court charged with breaching hospital's abortion 'safe access zone'
A woman currently appealing a conviction for conducting an illegal protest inside a hospital’s ‘safe access zone’ is due to appear in court on fresh charges.
Claire Brennan is due to appear in Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday to be charged with three offences of “doing an act inside a safe access zone” on three specific dates in September, October and November last year.
The details of the charges allege that at the Causeway Hospital, the 54-year-old “did an act, in a safe access zone,” namely harassed three named women.
Brennan, from the Doneyshiel Road in Rasharkin, is alleged to have harassed the women, “with the intent of, or being reckless as to whether, it had the effect of causing harassment, alarm or distress in connection with the protected person attending premises for a purpose mentioned in section 3 of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023”.
In addition to the latest charges, the mother of four is currently appealing a conviction for conducting an illegal protest inside the safe access zone at the Causeway Hospital on October 3 2023.
In that case, the court has heard how police had been called to the hospital following reports that two people were protesting within the safe access zone.
Under the 2023 act anti-abortion protests and other behaviours are prohibited within any safe access zone once it has been established, and this may be enforced by the PSNI.
Despite “clear signage,” officers found an anti-abortion sign on display and tried to engage with the protestors who ignored their requests to leave, stating they were “morally obligated to protest”.
Brennan and 40-year-old David Hall, from Kingsbury Gardens in Coleraine, were arrested after they finally agreed to leave the zone but they were not taken into police custody.
While Hall admitted his guilt, Brennan contested the case.
In giving evidence on her own behalf, Brennan said she accepted being at the hospital that day but added: “I am a Christian and I am a pro-life activist so it is my moral duty to stand in the gap for the least of the little ones and to defend their rights, their rights to live.”
“No man can touch what is sacred and life is sacred and no human being on earth has the right to take life because it is sacred,” she told the earlier court.
Brennan was, however, ultimately convicted but that conviction is subject to an ongoing appeal which is due to be heard later this year.