The Catholic Church in Scotland has said there are “profound moral and ethical concerns” around plans to remove legal sanctions for women who conduct their own abortions.
The intervention comes following the leak of a motion to be voted on at the party conference of the governing SNP, as well as a broader debate about abortion law both in Scotland and the wider United Kingdom.
The National obtained a draft agenda for the SNP conference. The document included a motion on changing the law on women who end their own abortions that would be “rooted in human rights and equality of access, not criminal law”.
The leak comes in the wake of concerns that the SNP may seek to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Abortion Law Reform Expert Group. Catholic Bishop John Keenan has previously questioned the group’s credentials to act as supposedly impartial experts on the matter, noting that pro-life voices were excluded from the group and the principle of “non-regression” was adopted. In short, the group would only recommend changes in one direction.
On the issue of the SNP conference motion, Anthony Horan, Director of the Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office, said it was “deeply troubling” that SNP members would be voting on whether to “remove legal protections relating to self-administered abortion in Scotland”.
Horan said the SNP proposals effectively allow “abortion up to the point of birth and sex-selective abortion”, adding that this raises “profound moral and ethical concerns”.
He added, “I urge the SNP, and all parties and politicians, to uphold both compassion for women facing difficult pregnancies and protection for the most vulnerable members of our human family.
"Rather than expanding access to abortion, Scotland should focus on providing practical support to mothers, children and families, ensuring that no woman feels alone or without alternatives.”
Recent figures have suggested that abortion is now the leading cause of death in Scotland.
