THE Scottish Greens have called for abortion to be decriminalised in Scotland.
It comes as Westminster is set to consider decriminalising abortion in England and Wales this summer, according to reports.
Politico has reported that two backbench Labour MPs – Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasy – are drawing up separate proposals to change the law which would be brought before MPs in the coming months.
Abortion currently remains technically illegal under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Abortion Act of 1967 ensured people could get a termination but only under certain circumstances.
The process requires the approval of two doctors and any termination beyond 24 weeks of a pregnancy is considered to be illegal and women can be prosecuted.
Campaigners believe the legislation is out-of-date and needs to be changed to remove any form of criminality from those seeking a termination.
This includes Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay (below), who recently spearheaded legislation that introduced buffer zones outside abortion clinics, and has called on the Scottish Government to act on this issue too.
Under Section 53 of the Scotland Act 2016, abortion law was devolved to Scotland, but hasn’t changed since.
“We [The Scottish Greens] support the decriminalisation of abortion. It is long overdue, and it is regrettable that it has taken so long to get to this point,” she told The National.
“It was raised with me a lot when I was introducing my Safe Access Zones Act to curb anti-choice protests and it is something we need to see action on in Scotland alongside reform to remove the ‘two doctor rule.’”
She added: “I hope that these proposals by Labour in Westminster will lead to a similar discussion and progress here in Scotland. Abortion care is healthcare. Nobody should be criminalised for trying to receive vital medical attention.”
