A US government department has said it is “disappointed” following the conviction of a woman for breaching a “buffer zone” outside a Bournemouth abortion clinic.
Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, was sentenced on Friday to a conditional discharge for two years at Poole Magistrates’ Court after breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order on two days in March 2023.
She had held a sign saying: “Here to talk, if you want”.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) posted a statement on X, saying: “We are disappointed with the UK court’s conviction of Livia Tossici-Bolt for violating a designated ‘buffer zone’ at an abortion clinic.”
It added: “Freedom of expression must be protected for all.”
DRL is part of the US State Department, which is responsible for the country’s foreign policy and relations. The bureau says its aim is to champion “American values, including the rule of law and individual rights” including “protecting freedom of expression”.
Speaking after the case, Tossici-Bolt, a retired medical scientist from Bournemouth, said: “This is a dark day for Great Britain. I was not protesting and did not harass or obstruct anyone.
“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 UK. What has happened to this country? The US State Department was right to be concerned by this case as it has serious implications for the entire Western world.”
Livia Tossici-Bolt near Poole Magistrates’ Court where she was convicted of breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order outside an abortion clinic in 2023. Pic: PA
But District Judge Orla Austin formed a different opinion, telling the court that the defendant “lacks insight that her presence could have a detrimental effect on the women attending the clinic”.
She added: “I accept her beliefs were truly held beliefs. Although it’s accepted this defendant held pro-life views, it’s important to note this case is not about the rights and wrongs about abortion but about whether the defendant was in breach of the PSPO [Public Spaces Protection Order].”
Tossici-Bolt was also ordered to pay £20,000 towards court costs and a £26 victim surcharge.
The case has become the focus of a free speech controversy involving the US government. Vice President JD Vance confronted Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on the issue.
He said in February he feared free speech in Britain was “in retreat”.
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Downing Street said it was vital that women using abortion services can do so “without being subject to harassment or distress” and the right to protest does not “give people the right to harass others”.
Asked whether there is a problem with free speech in the UK, the prime minister’s spokesperson said Britain has “a very proud tradition of free speech over many centuries, and we remain proud of it today”.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council welcomed the conviction, stating that the buffer zone enacted in 2022 was there so patients and staff “could safely access” the clinic “without fear of intimidation”.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) said it welcomed the verdict which “will protect women and the staff who provide abortion care”.
During the trial Rosalind Comyn, defending, said: “The council hasn’t produced any evidence that Ms Tossici-Bolt was in fact either observed by any service user or any other forms of harm were caused by her behaviour.
“My point is not that breaches can never cause harm, rather that there is no evidence that Ms Tossici-Bolt’s conduct did in this case.”
