Senior judges may be asked to intervene in the controversial case involving a pastor accused of breaching abortion censorship zone regulations in Northern Ireland.
Clive Johnston, former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, appeared in Coleraine Magistrates’ court this morning, charged under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act for holding an open-air Sunday service on the fringes of a zone around the town’s Causeway Hospital last year.
Pastor Johnston has instructed prominent legal figure John Larkin KC, Northern Ireland’s former Attorney General, to lead his defence team in seeking a High Court ruling on whether the buffer zones laws really do outlaw acts of worship that have nothing to do with abortion.
Devolution issue
Mr Johnston, who is being supported by The Christian Institute, pleaded not guilty to charges of seeking to ‘influence’ people accessing the hospital’s abortion services and for not immediately leaving the area when asked to do so by police.
The retired pastor was preaching from John 3:16, one of the most famous ‘good news’ verses in the Bible. The issue of abortion was never mentioned.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal lifeJohn 3:16
His lawyer, senior criminal barrister Aaron Thompson, told District Judge Peter King that the case involves ‘crucially important devolution and constitutional matters’ and may involve consideration by a higher court.
Mr Thompson said there is “a tension between the buffer zone legislation and Mr Johnston’s freedom of conscience and religious expression as enshrined in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights”. The case has been adjourned until 2 May.
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Gospel ban
Ahead of the hearing, the Institute’s Simon Calvert said: “Should a law designed to stop abortion protests be used to criminalise gospel preaching?
“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.
“It’s just not reasonable or rational to suggest preaching the Gospel, with no reference to abortion, is a protest against abortion. The Police and the Public Prosecution Service are overstepping the mark.
“There is a vital principle at stake. If the Gospel can be banned in this public place, where else can it be banned?”
If the Gospel can be banned in this public place, where else can it be banned?
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