Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner, has been convicted of breaching a buffer zone outside a clinic in Bournemouth. She was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs after being found guilty of two charges of violating a public spaces protection order (PSPO) on two days in March 2023.
The case drew attention from the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), which met Tossici-Bolt last month. Following the conviction, the DRL expressed disappointment, stating that 'freedom of expression must be protected for all.'
Judge Orla Austin ruled that Tossici-Bolt was engaging in an act of disapproval of abortion services and lacked insight into the detrimental effect her presence could have on women attending the clinic. The court heard that Tossici-Bolt stood with a sign reading 'Here to talk, if you want' outside the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) clinic.
A Downing Street spokesperson emphasised the importance of women accessing abortion services without harassment, noting that the right to protest does not extend to harassing others. The spokesperson defended the UK's tradition of free speech.
The BPAS welcomed the verdict, with chief executive Heidi Stewart stating that the clinic had faced decades of protests and over 500 reports of harassment before the buffer zone was implemented. The court also heard that Tossici-Bolt received financial support from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a US-backed group.
