The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has welcomed the “encouraging” news that the governing SNP has abandoned a controversial draft motion on abortion at its National Conference.
A draft of the motion was leaked in September and recommended the implementation of the recommendations of the Scottish Abortion Law Reform Expert Group. Critics of the so-called expert group have noted that the group contains no pro-life views and from the outset adopted the principle of “non-regression”, meaning abortion 'rights' recommendations could only go in the direction of expansion rather than reduction.
Earlier this week the Scottish Greens provoked the ire of pro-life voices by also giving their support to the expert group.
In response to the Green’s intervention Bishop John Keenan, President of the National Office for Marriage, Family and Life of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said the Catholic Church was “deeply concerned by renewed calls to decriminalise abortion in Scotland and to remove existing legal safeguards governing the ending of unborn human life".
"These proposals would permit abortion up to birth for any reason, including sex-selective abortion," he said.
SPUC also chimed in, saying the proposals were “disastrous and destructive”.
While the SNP may have dropped the motion from their conference there is no guarantee that the Scottish government will not proceed with the recommendations of the expert group, perhaps by launching a “public consultation” on the matter.
John Deighan, Chief Executive of SPUC, said, “We warmly welcome the decision to drop this deeply divisive motion from the final conference agenda.”
Michael Robinson, the group’s Executive Director, said the news was “encouraging” and added, “It is right to welcome a positive decision when one is made. We want politicians of every party to recognise that supporting women and protecting unborn children should go hand in hand.”
Robinson also said that SPUC would be taking part in any public consultation, should the Scottish government proceed with one.
