A significant rise in the numbers of abortions in Scotland is likely to get steeper if the new First Minister of Scotland succeeds in having existing restrictions lifted.
A record number of abortions in Scotland took place in 2022 (16,596) compared to 13,940 in 2021, according to figures from Public Health Scotland. The rise was most significant in deprived areas, such as Forth Valley, Lanarkshire and Grampian.
There was also an 84% rise in the number of abortions of babies with Down’s Syndrome last year compared to 2021.
But First Minister Humza Yousaf made clear while standing for election that he wanted existing restrictions in Scotland lifted. The Scottish government has devolved power to amend abortion laws. If the current 24-weeks’ gestation limit on abortion and all grounds under the Abortion Act are lifted, abortion will be available in Scotland at any time on demand – up to birth.
Catherine Robinson from Right to Life UK said this would ‘leave Scotland with one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world’.
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, the Court of Appeal has rejected SPUC’s appeal against the former Northern Ireland Secretary’s decision to introduce regulations to provide abortion services. One of the grounds of appeal related to Article 2 of the 1998 Northern Ireland Protocol. Under the protocol, the signatories ‘affirm their commitment to the mutual respect, the civil rights, and the religious liberties of everyone in the community’.
The appeal judges decided that the phrase ‘everyone in the community’ does not include the unborn, on the basis that Article 2 of the ECHR has consistently been held not to apply to foetuses.
The current NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has pledged his commitment to rolling out abortion services in the province.
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