The U.S. State Department has raised concerns about freedom of expression in the UK, especially in relation to Livia Tossici-Bolt, a pro-life woman prosecuted for holding a sign offering help in an abortion clinic’s buffer zone.
Tossici-Bolt faced a criminal trial this month for her sign that read, “Here to talk, if you want,” near an abortion facility, with a verdict expected on Friday by District Judge Orla Austin.
The statement was released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor during a time when the UK is aiming for a free trade agreement with the U.S. “U.S.-UK relations share a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, as Vice President Vance has said, we are concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom,” the statement noted.
While in the UK, DRL Senior Advisor Sam Samson met with Tossici-Bolt, who is facing criminal charges for her actions. "We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression,” the U.S. State Department added.
Tossici-Bolt responded to this unusual intervention with appreciation for the U.S. administration, saying she was “grateful” for their support amid increasing “censorship” in the UK.
She stated, “Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, yet I’ve been dragged through court merely for offering consensual conversation. Peaceful expression is a fundamental right—no one should be criminalised for harmless offers to converse.”
She lamented that the rise of censorship in the UK has led the U.S. to remind them of shared values, declaring, “I’m grateful to the U.S. administration for prioritising the preservation and promotion of freedom of expression.”
Vice President Vance recently voiced similar concerns about freedom of expression across Europe, particularly the UK, during a speech to European leaders in Munich.
He criticized abortion clinic buffer zones in Edinburgh for potentially infringing on individuals' rights to private prayer at home and raised the case of Adam Smith-Connor, another pro-lifer convicted for praying silently in an abortion clinic buffer zone.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, which supports both Tossici-Bolt and Smith-Connor, remarked that criminal prosecutions for silent prayer and consensual conversations are “not only illiberal, but also irresponsible,” putting relations with the U.S., an important ally, at risk.
In February, the State Department condemned the arrest of Rose Docherty, a Scottish Christian grandmother, for holding a sign in a Glasgow abortion clinic’s buffer zone that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” The State Department emphasized, “Freedom of expression needs to be protected. We call on governments, whether in Scotland or around the world, to respect freedom of expression for all.”
