Northern Ireland Pastor Clive Johnston to appeal conviction for preaching in abortion protest buffer zone
A Northern Ireland pastor who was convicted of breaching an abortion protest buffer zone has has filed an appeal against his conviction.
Retired Strabane pastor Clive Johnston, 77, was convicted of breaching protest buffer zone legislation at Coleraine Hospital on July 7 2024.
The former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland was convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act after holding an open-air service opposite the hospital.
Mr Johnston argued that he only preached a simple gospel message and did not mention abortion at any time. He previously told the court that his intention was to “test” the law – not to break it.
The grandfather of seven was also convicted with failing to comply with a police direction to leave the protest buffer zone.
He was convicted at Limavady Magistrates’ Court, sitting in Coleraine on 7 May.
District Judge Peter King said the 77-year-old admitted himself that as well as delivering a sermon outside Causeway Hospital, his intention was to test the law.
“Mr Johnston tested the law, to the point where he broke the law,” the judge ruled.
Speaking after filing an appeal against his intention to appeal, Mr Johnston said: “If this conviction is allowed to stand, it will signal that basic Christian witness and public expressions of faith can be criminalised simply because they take place in the wrong location. That should concern every person who values freedom of religion and freedom of expression, regardless of their views on abortion.”
Mr Johnston’s legal team will argue that the conviction represents a disproportionate interference with fundamental rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights and codified into UK law under the Human Rights Act.
Mr Johnston had been backed in his case by the Christian Institute, Spokesman Simon Calvert said: “The implications of this dangerous ruling reach far beyond one individual pastor in Northern Ireland. If public authorities can prosecute someone for reading the Bible and preaching on God’s love, then fundamental freedoms are at risk.”
He noted that former Tory Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said of the case on X: “It is extraordinary that in a Christian country the police think it is an offence to preach the word of God outside a hospital.”