The Scottish government should scrap the legal requirement for two doctors to approve a termination, effectively decriminalising the procedure, and consider regulating abortion drugs for use by women in their own homes, according to a report by a coalition of women’s rights organisations.
With abortion law devolved to Holyrood as part of the Scotland Act 2016, the report argues that the SNP government must now “be bold in creating a distinctive approach” by removing it from criminal statute and regulating it like any other healthcare procedure.
The campaigners – including Amnesty Scotland, NUS Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid – are calling on politicians to “make a woman’s legal right to choose a reality” by removing the two doctors rule.
Under UK law abortion is permitted for non-medical reasons up to 24 weeks and with the permission of two doctors. The SNP reaffirmed its commitment to current legal protections and to maintaining time limits in line with the rest of the UK in its spring manifesto.
But the report insists it is time to go further, arguing: “There is an opportunity within the devolution of abortion law to develop a distinct Scottish approach to women’s reproductive health and the strengthen women’s rights.”
Since the devolution of abortion law was announced last November, some pro-choice campaigners have raised concerns about the risk of anti-abortion groups exploiting cross-border differences.
Others have suggested the surge in political engagement, particularly among women, brought about by the 2014 independence referendum campaign could bolster any forthcoming drive to extend abortion rights in Scotland.
On a visit to Dublin two weeks ago, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said her government would explore how to allow Northern Irish women to obtain free access to abortions in Scotland’s NHS hospitals.
Abortion is legal in Northern Ireland only when the pregnancy poses a direct threat to the mother’s life. The NHS has so far refused to pay for abortions for Northern Irish women who travel to Britain.
Emma Ritch, executive director of the feminist campaign group Engender, which spearheaded the report, said: “It does seem there is a very unique status given to abortion, in that it is the only type of healthcare in which this criminalisation exists. We would want to see decriminalisation happen so that abortion was regulated in the same way as any other type of healthcare.
“Any Scottish approach to abortion should be based on international best practice, so we could adopt a situation as in Canada where there is no criminal law when it comes to abortion. While the debate around time limits is not a focus of the report, there is no compelling evidence of a reason to have time limits at all. Research shows that women want to access abortions at the earliest possible stage, and allowing later-term abortions does not significantly increase demand.”
The report criticises NHS Scotland for lagging behind England in its provision of later-term abortions, with terminations for non-medical reasons not normally available after 20 weeks, forcing some women to travel south.
It also suggests the Scottish government should consider regulating the provision of medical abortion drugs to allow terminations in early pregnancy to be carried out at home. A total of 12,082 abortions were carried out in Scotland in 2015, about 80% of which took place before 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The report counters the assumption that Scottish social attitudes, influenced by strong religious traditions, are more anti-choice than elsewhere in the UK. It says that according to polling carried out in the last year, 75% of Scots support a woman’s right to choose.
Women"s groups urge Scotland to scrap two doctors abortion rule
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