A court in England on Friday (April 4) convicted a retired Christian woman of breaching an abortion clinic “buffer zone,” where she offered consensual conversation.
Poole Magistrates’ Court sentenced 64-year-old Livia Tossici-Bolt to a two-year conditional discharge and ordered the retired clinical scientist to pay £20,000 pounds ($26,218 USD) for two charges of breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) on two days in 2023.
Tossici-Bolt had held a sign saying “Here to talk, if you want” outside a clinic in Bournemouth, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.
In a conditional discharge, a convict must abide by conditions set by the court or face the possibility of a prison sentence. The amount of prosecution costs Tossici-Bolt was ordered to pay, £20,000 pounds, is nearly six months’ average salary in the U.K.
The incident happened in June 2023 when a local authority, the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, levied a Fixed Penalty Notice against Tossici-Bolt. The council alleged that she breached the PSPO banning any “expression of approval or disapproval of abortion” and fined her.
Tossici-Bolt refused to pay the fine, arguing that she did not breach the zone and had a legal right to offer consensual conversations under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act. She must pay the prosecution costs of £20,000 by May 31.
At the court hearing, a council officer said Tossici-Bolt breached the PSPO on “several grounds.” He considered “her pro-life views, his own previous interaction with her, the complaint that had been received and the sign that she was holding,” as reported by ADF International.
Attorneys from ADF International argued that the council produced no evidence to show that Tossici-Bolt had been “observed by any service user or any other form of harm…neither is there an identified victim in this case.”
District Judge Orla Austin acknowledged the sign “made no reference to pregnancy, abortion, or religious matters,” and he heard a council officer acknowledge Tossici-Bolt showed no sign of intimidating or harassing anyone, but nevertheless he ruled that council officers were reasonable in believing the PSPO had been breached, according to ADF International.
After the hearing, Tossici-Bolt called the outcome of the case, which the U.S. administration has been following, a “dark day for Great Britain.”
“I was not protesting and did not harass or obstruct anyone,” she said. “All I did was offer consensual conversation in a public place, as is my basic right, and yet the court found me guilty. Freedom of expression is in a state of crisis in the U.K. What has happened to this country? The U.S. State Department was right to be concerned by this case as it has serious implications for the entire Western world."
Tossici-Bolt vowed to continue fighting for free speech, not just for herself but for every Briton, and she is considering next steps after the ruling.
“If we allow this precedent of censorship to stand, nobody’s right to freely express themselves is secure,” she said. “With ADF International’s support, I will now consider all legal options.”
Several people showed a willingness to engage with Tossici-Bolt in conversation at the time, ADF International previously stated about the case. Legal Counsel for ADF International Lorcán Price commented that anyone who cared about free speech should care about buffer zones.
“A Christian woman has been convicted merely for offering to chat on a public street in Britain,” said Price. “This ruling should show all reasonable people that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, abortion facility ‘buffer zones’ are incompatible with a free society. We will now support Livia in considering all legal options.”
A 2023 U.K. law, Public Order Act 2023, allows local authorities to install censorial buffer zones outside abortion clinics. The legislation banned any influencing of “a person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services.”
