A 75-year-old grandmother has been arrested and criminally charged for holding a sign near a Glasgow hospital that carries out abortions which read “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”

In Scotland, “buffer zones” are enforced within 200m of every hospital, forbidding harassment, intimidation, and “influencing” of anyone seeking to access abortion. A similar law exists in Ireland.

The women, Rose Docherty, has been charged with breaching the “buffer zone” around Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Reacting to her arrest, Mrs Docherty said: “Everybody has the right to engage in consensual conversation. I held my sign with love and compassion, inviting anyone who wants to chat, to do so – and stood peacefully, not approaching anyone.

“I should not be treated as a criminal for inviting people to chat with me – lending a listening ear. Conversation is not forbidden on the streets of Glasgow. And yet, this is the second time I have been arrested for doing just that.”