Important Takeaways:

• The 76-year-old pastor, Clive Johnston, a former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, faces two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act, including allegedly seeking to “influence” individuals accessing abortion services and failing to leave the area when instructed by police, according to The Christian Institute, which is defending Johnston.
• Pastor Johnston’s sermon took place on July 7, 2024, on a patch of grass near Causeway Hospital. The location was separated from the hospital by a dual carriageway, and about a dozen people attended the service, which included hymn singing and a wooden cross as part of the gathering.
• Despite the absence of placards or any mention of abortion in his sermon, authorities deemed the service a violation of the buffer zone regulations.
• Johnston is due to appear at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Friday, where he could face fines totaling thousands of pounds.
• The Christian Institute’s Deputy Director Simon Calvert called the prosecution “an outrageous restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech.”
• John 3:16, the focus of Johnston’s sermon, says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
• “The Christian Institute is backing this case because there is a vital principle at stake,” Calvert explained. “If the Gospel can be banned in this public place, where else can it be banned? The authorities do not seem to have thought through the human rights implications of their decision to prosecute.”

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