Scotland’s abortion law review is well underway

Reacting to the US Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v Wade, resulting in making abortion laws a responsibility of individual states, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a commitment to review abortion in Scotland. One outworking of this commitment was to introduce protection zones around abortion clinics and a nine-month review.

From Tuesday, 24 September, the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024 comes into effect, where to ​“influence the decision, prevent or impede access or cause alarm or distress of another person seeking to access an abortion clinic” within 200 meters could receive a fine up to £10, 000. 

The other focus was to commission a panel to review existing laws and propose reforms that would ​“ensure abortion services are first and foremost a healthcare matter.” The expert group was constituted in 2023 and since the 6 August 2024 are now tasked with providing the Scottish ministers with recommendations on existing laws and possible changes. Proposals must be made before the next Scottish parliamentary election (which is to be determined).

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At present there are six topics the group will focus on and invite those stakeholders with an interest in abortion laws, service delivery and expertise, likely to include the Evangelical Alliance, to comment and provide analysis. Those topics are:

• Gestational limits
• Grounds for abortion
• Conscientious objection
• Data and reporting
• Oversight of providers
• Offences and regulations

The Scottish Government have provided a summary on the remit and membership of the group, please visit: https://www.gov.scot/publications/abortion-law-review-expert-group-terms-of-reference/

Colleagues from the advocacy team in Scotland, Westminster along with the Both Lives team based in Northern Ireland have met with Scottish government officials to understand timelines, remit and explore opportunities to engage. At present we are finalising our submission on gestational limits and grounds for abortion, due 27 September, and would appreciate your prayers.

Longer term, we plan to have private meetings with other Christian advocacy organisations, health practitioners and those with statistical expertise. We want to ensure that our collective engagement makes the moral case for both lives in pregnancy and outline the health risks to mother and unborn child. 

It is our aim to ensure that the recommendations made allay current fears and oppose progressive policies of abortion up to birth. 

We believe there is an important role for individual Christians and churches to make on this issue. The outcome of this review will have a dominoes effect to policies in the other three nations in the UK and so engagement is key.

Following the conclusion of the group’s recommendation to the Scottish Government there will be a public consultation at some point for those in Scotland to offer their input. Once we have more details, we will provide members guidance and briefing on how to engage. 

In the interim we invite the membership to do two things:

1. Sign up to receive either Both Lives or Everything Advocacy mailing where we will provide policy and prayer updates.
2. Register to join a future UK-wide church leaders roundtable on abortion and pregnancy crisis. For the past 18 months, we have co-hosted roundtables between church leaders, medics and pregnancy crisis service providers with a vision to equip Christians to engage biblically on the issue of abortion and pregnancy crisis and resource the church to respond locally. If you would like to receive information for future gatherings, please email Lisa Curry, Both Lives administrator, at stand@​bothlives.​co.​uk.

In Ephesians 4:15, the Apostle Paul commends new believers in Ephesus to speak the truth in love to one another. On the issue of abortion and pregnancy crisis, our witness must be to lovingly speak the truth of the ill and impact of abortion to thousands of men and women’s lives and driven from a heart full of love, that many would come to know the healing, forgiveness and redemptive power of Christ.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and encouragement as we advocate for both lives in pregnancy across the UK.