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Scotland May Soon Allow Abortions Up To Birth For ‘Social Reasons’
Scotland is facing backlash as the country could potentially adopt the most extreme abortion laws in the European Union.
Scotland is currently regulated by the 1967 Abortion Act, which allows abortions up to 24 weeks of gestation if two doctors agree that the criteria are met. This is notably higher than in many other European countries, where the limit is usually 12 weeks.
But now, thanks to a review of abortion law commissioned by the Scottish Government, those restrictions could be abolished entirely, with women able to access abortion up to birth for “social reasons” including for reasons of sex selection, such as aborting a daughter if the mother wanted a son instead.
The Abortion Law Expert Group said the current requirements demanding approval from two doctors are “anachronistic, paternalistic and failed to reflect best modern practice.” A new proposal would require approval from two “healthcare professionals,” which would broaden the scope to include nurses, midwives, and other roles in the medical field issuing those approvals.
The topic of sex selection abortions was mentioned in the recommendations, per The Telegraph.
“[The review group] believed that any prohibition would be unworkable in practice,” Anna Glasier, the chair of The Abortion Law Expert Group, said, “…requiring either intrusive and inappropriate questioning of all women regarding their motivation for seeking abortion, or racial profiling and additional questioning of a smaller proportion of women from ethnic communities where sex-selective abortion is believed to be practiced.”
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No decision has been made on the recommendations, but Jenni Minto, Scotland’s Minister for Women’s Health, said the government will “take time to carefully consider all the findings.”
There has been backlash against the extreme proposal. Telegraph columnist Celia Walden called it a “dystopian nightmare,” writing, “the idea of engineering your children like you’re picking toppings on a pizza makes me queasy.”
Director of advocacy and policy for the Christian group Care for Scotland, Caroline Ansell, said, “If enacted, we believe they would have heartbreaking consequences for women and babies, including exposing more women to the dangers and harms of late-term abortions.”
Several pro-life groups have pointed out that this proposed change does not reflect public opinion, which has become increasingly opposed to abortion.
A recent Ipsos poll across 29 countries found that a higher percentage of Millennial and Gen Z women were opposed to keeping abortion legal in all cases compared to Baby Boomers, who were the biggest supporters of abortion of the demographics surveyed.