Further liberalising abortion laws “raises grave moral and social questions”, the Catholic Church in Scotland has warned.
The latest intervention follows the publication of a draft motion that seeks to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Abortion Law Reform Expert Group.
The group recommends measures that critics say would effectively legalise abortion up to the point of birth.
Bishop John Keenan, President of the National Office for Marriage, Family and Life for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland took aim at the so-called expert group, saying it “excluded prolife voices and … adopted a principle of ‘non-regression’ on abortion provision.”
This, the bishop argued, meant the group lacked “both legitimacy and credibility”.
As well as practically allowing abortion up to the point of birth, the group's recommendations make no reference to sex-selective abortion, meaning that not wanting a child of a certain gender could effectively become legitimate grounds for abortion.
Recent figures have suggested that abortion is now the leading cause of death in Scotland, outstripping cancer.
Bishop Keenan called for greater support for struggling mothers and their children rather than encouraging yet more abortion.
“I recognise the real fear, pressure and hardship that can accompany an unexpected or crisis pregnancy," he said.
"Women in such circumstances deserve compassion, practical assistance, emotional support and the assurance that neither they nor their children will be abandoned.
"A truly caring society must respond to vulnerability by offering hope and help, not by making abortion more readily available at later stages of pregnancy.
“The establishment of later-stage abortion provision in Scotland, alongside proposals to weaken existing legal safeguards, raises grave moral and social questions. Every unborn child is a unique human life deserving of protection, and every mother should be supported in ways that uphold her dignity and the dignity of her child.”
