Retired pastor Clive Johnston is to appeal his conviction for preaching the Gospel within one of Northern Ireland’s controversial abortion censorship zones. The former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, who is being supported by The Christian Institute, was convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act for holding an open-air service on the fringes of a buffer zone opposite Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital last year. His sermon made no reference to abortion, nor were there any abortion placards or banners – a fact accepted by both sides and the judge in court. Yet, Mr Johnston was found guilty of being “reckless” as to whether his actions of preaching and standing near a large cross might ‘influence’ someone accessing the hospital’s abortion services. This is the first UK buffer zone case in which a person has been criminalised for preaching a sermon that did not mention abortion.
