Recently Fox News reported the following:  

Retired Pastor, 78, Convicted and Fined for Preaching Bible Verse Near Northern Ireland Hospital

Pastor Clive Johnston was arrested in 2024 outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine for reading and preaching on one of the best known texts in the Bible, John 3:16 within a "safe access zone" as specified by the Northern Ireland Abortion Services Act.  He was found guilty of "influencing" inside the protected zone and fined 450 pounds, or about $614 in U.S. dollars.

Johnston responded to his conviction with the following words:"It effectively redefines peaceful Christian witness as a form of unlawful 'influence'," he told Fox News Digital. "If simply reading the Bible, praying, and preaching on God's love can now be considered harmful because someone might overhear it within a certain area, then we have crossed a very serious line."

"Once the state claims the authority to decide that peaceful biblical preaching is an unacceptable 'influence,' in some places, the space for Christians to live out and share their faith in public life risks becoming increasingly narrow," he continued. "And we can go further than faith-related concerns – if an act that doesn't mention abortion is criminalized, what other acts could fall within the reach of this law?"

Johnston is absolutely right.  This law does not merely control actions; it is an effort control minds by restricting where certain ideas can be shared.  We hope that Pastor Johnston will appeal this decision.