Here is a statement from Anthony Horan, Director of the Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office regarding proposals to remove legal protections relating to self-administered abortion in Scotland.
It follows reports of a leaked copy of the Scottish National Party’s conference draft agenda that includes a motion calling for a change in the law so it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason, including sex-selective purposes, and at any point up to and during birth.
Statement
It is deeply troubling to hear that SNP members may be asked to vote on a motion seeking to remove legal protections relating to self-administered abortion in Scotland.
Human life possesses inherent dignity and worth from conception until natural death, and any proposal that would further weaken safeguards for unborn children, including abortion up to the point of birth and sex-selective abortion, raises profound moral and ethical concerns.
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.
What the people of Scotland need now is for government, political parties and MSPs to focus on the priorities that affect daily life: easing the cost-of-living pressures facing households, addressing the housing crisis, strengthening local health services, improving access to high-quality palliative care, and working for peace and reconciliation both at home and abroad.
We do not need an extreme abortion law.
Scotland deserves better.
