Scottish woman arrested for 'silent vigil' in wake of Vance's critique of European censorship
Barely one week after Vice President J.D. Vance called out Europe for excessively harsh “thought-crime” laws, a shocking arrest made news across the globe.
A 74-year-old woman was arrested for silently praying outside of an abortion clinic in Scotland.
She was the first person in Scotland to ever be arrested and charged under the country's recently enacted measure known as the Abortion Services Act, which makes it a criminal offense to “attempt to influence women to not get an abortion.”
Additionally, it is breaking a law to “impede their access; or otherwise cause alarm, harassment or distress.”
Essentially, it is against the law to have protests or vigils to be held within 200 meters of abortion clinics in Scotland.
Similar policies have also gone into place in both England and Wales according to Breitbart News.
Footage of the arrest of the 74-year-old woman has now made its way on social media.
In the video, the woman asks the officers “Am I committing an offence?”
“Yes, I believe you are conducting a silent vigil,” the officer responded.
The woman being targeted by police was Rose Docherty, a woman holding a sign reading:
“Coercion is a crime. Here to talk, only if you want.”👇 pic.twitter.com/eIy9NNauGL
— Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) February 18, 2025
Vance has called out the “thought-crime” laws put in place, bringing up the chilling fact that “even private prayer within their own homes may amount to breaking the law.”
The VP has since been accused by Green Party member of Scottish Parliament, Gillian Mackay, of “dangerous scaremongering” and spreading “shameless Information.”
Yet, the Scottish government noted in a letter sent out to residents that even if you have a vigil in a private place “such as a house” within 200-meters of an abortion clinic could be considered “an offense.”
“In general, the offences apply in public places within the Safe Access Zones. However, activities in a private place (such as a house) within the area between the protected premises and the boundary of a Zone could be an offence if they can be seen or heard within the Zone and done intentionally or recklessly,” the letter wrote.