Section 3 of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 reads as follows:

“3. In this Act, a protected person is a person attending a protected premises for the purpose of–

(a) accessing the treatment, information, advice or counselling there,

(b) accompanying a person described in paragraph (a), at the invitation of that person, or

(c) working in, or providing services to, the protected premises.”

In Director of Public Prosecutions v Johnston [2026] NIMag 1, Clive Johnstone, a former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, held what he described as a “gospel outreach” in a Safe Access Zone [“SAZ”] around Causeway Hospital, Newbridge Road, Coleraine, on 7 July 2024 [1]. There was no dispute that he was within a Safe Access Zone as defined by the 2023 Act at the material time [5]. He liaised with the police in advance of the event and was warned that if the event was “conducted in the safe access zone, it will give rise to a reasonable suspicion that you have committed an offence.  Police will be required to take enforcement action” [9]. Continue reading →