Clive Johnston, a retired pastor in Northern Ireland, is facing prosecution for allegedly violating “abortion buffer zones laws” by preaching an open-air sermon on John 3:16.
Johnston, 76, decided to preach a sermon on the famous verse last July outside of Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, according to a release from The Christian Institute, which is representing him.
The elderly minister “never mentioned” abortion specifically in his sermon, raising the question of whether “a law designed to stop abortion protests” should be “used to criminalise gospel preaching.”
The open-air Sunday sermon was delivered from the “fringes of a buffer zone on the other side of a dual carriageway” from the general hospital.
Johnston had a preliminary hearing on March 21 and expects a trial “in the next few months.”
“If convicted, the grandfather of seven, who has never been in trouble with the police, faces a criminal record and maximum fines totaling thousands of pounds,” according to The Christian Institute.
The organization noted that “it is now a criminal offence for people to be ‘impeded, recorded, influenced or to be caused harassment, alarm or distress’ within the areas” encompassed by the buffer zones.
Johnston, who previously served as president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, is accused of “influencing” rather than impeding or harassing.
The Christian Institute added that the prosecution comes after the Green Party passed legislation three years ago creating buffer zones ranging between 100 meters and 150 meters.
The buffer zones around abortion clinics are meant to dissuade Christians from speaking to men and women entering or from encouraging them to choose life.
Simon Calvert, the deputy director of The Christian Institute, said in a statement, “We have amazing gospel freedom in this country, and we encourage Christians to use those freedoms, so that more people will hear about the love of God.”
“That’s why we’ve taken on this case,” he added. “Prosecuting someone for preaching John 3:16 near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is an outrageous restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech.”
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