The United Kingdom, which has been cracking down on speech for years, dealt free speech another blow on Thursday when a district judge found Clive Johnston, a retired Northern Irish pastor, guilty of preaching John 3:16 in public.
The 78-year-old was convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zone) Act (Northern Ireland) for holding an open-air service near Causeway Hospital in Coleraine in 2024. This law makes it a crime to do anything that could be seen as “influencing” or “preventing or impeding” people seeking abortion services within 100 meters of a clinic. Eight of these “buffer zones” have been created in Northern Ireland.
However, Johnston did not mention abortion in his sermon. It was also a Sunday, which meant the sexual health clinic was not open for scheduled abortion appointments. Body camera footage shows Johnston speaking about his journey toward faith, playing the ukulele, and preaching John 3:16 (“for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son”) before being interrupted by a police officer. The officer tells Johnston that “this is a safe access zone,” and he must stop preaching or he “may be removed and liable to prosecution.”
Hellbound and Down 