A 74-year-old woman has become the first person to be arrested under Scotland's new abortion buffer zone law.
The pensioner was handcuffed and taken into custody after police responded to protesters gathered near the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow yesterday afternoon.
Officers arrived at the scene on Hardgate Road just after 2pm, police said - and the woman was then arrested and charged for breaching the exclusion zone and will be reported to the procurator fiscal.
The incident marks the first charge under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024.
The 74-year-old woman was arrested and charged for breaching the exclusion zone
BBC
The legislation prohibits anti-abortion demonstrations within 200 metres of clinics where terminations are performed.
Those who breach the new law could face unlimited fines in the most serious cases.
The buffer zones were introduced to protect women from "intimidation" while accessing healthcare facilities.
But they have drawn fire from across the pond - and the arrest came just days after US Vice President JD Vance criticised Scotland's buffer zone legislation at the Munich Security Conference.
Vance claimed the Scottish Government had warned citizens that "even private prayer within their own homes may amount to breaking the law" within the zones.
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The protesting pensioner was handcuffed after the incident
BBC
He also warned that "free speech is in retreat" across Britain and Europe.
But First Minister John Swinney dismissed Vance's remarks as "just wrong".
Meanwhile, Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who introduced the Bill, described the Vice President's comments as "nonsense".
Following yesterday's arrest, Mackay said: "This kind of intimidation has no place in a modern or progressive Scotland."
JD Vance warned that 'free speech is in retreat' across Britain and Europe
REUTERS"That is why I introduced my Act, and why these disgraceful protests are now illegal," she added.
She also issued a warning to US anti-choice campaign group 40 Days For Life, which reportedly plans protests in Glasgow next month.
"It's no coincidence that this has happened so soon after JD Vance and his supporters have spread toxic misinformation about Scotland," she claimed.
