Woman given conditional discharge for breaching abortion clinic ‘buffer zone’

An anti-abortion campaigner at the centre of a free speech controversy involving the US government has been given a two-year conditional discharge after being found guilty of breaching a “buffer zone” outside a Bournemouth abortion clinic.

Livia Tossici-Bolt was convicted at Poole Magistrates’ Court of two charges of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order on two days in March 2023.

The case involved the 64-year-old from Bournemouth holding a sign saying “Here to talk, if you want”.

District Judge Orla Austin also ordered Tossici-Bolt to pay £20,000 towards court costs and a £26 victim surcharge.

Her case was highlighted by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labour (DRL), a bureau within the US Department of State, which posted a statement on X saying: “We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression.”