Scot Govt to continue ‘unsafe’ DIY abortion scheme

The Scottish Government has confirmed that unsupervised home abortions will continue to be permitted in the country.

Maree Todd, Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport, has announced that emergency coronavirus measures allowing women under twelve weeks pregnant to take abortion pills at home will become standard practice.

Earlier this year, Westminster voted 215 to 188 to make permanent the emergency Covid measures permitting unsupervised home abortions in England, just weeks after the Government promised they would end.

‘Cynical, reckless, disgraceful ‘

Michael Robinson, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, responded: “DIY home abortion is a dangerous policy that has been shamelessly used to normalise abortion.

“Despite obvious safety concerns, the SNP has followed Westminster MPs by ignoring the facts of the matter and disregarding the well-founded views of a large majority of Scots.

“That the SNP did not even wait for the conclusion of its own safety evaluation shows that it only cares about advancing abortion ideology, not the safety and wellbeing of mothers. Ultimately, this is a cynical, reckless and disgraceful decision”.

Safeguarding

Last month, the head of a major medical professional body warned that DIY home abortions do not take into account the vulnerability of children and young women.

In a letter to The Times, Dr Camilla Kingdon, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that children under 18 years old and “looked after” women up to 25 years old “must be offered and actively encouraged to take up a face-to-face appointment”.

Dr Kingdon did not oppose abortion in principle, but warned that young people “can be highly vulnerable at this point: a face-to-face appointment would allow a healthcare professional to talk to them, examine them if necessary and spot any safeguarding issues”.