03/09/2026
๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ ๐๐ผ๐ต๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป: ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐๐ต ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ
I note with concern the Scottish Governmentโs response to a recent parliamentary question on abortion law and access to later-stage abortion services. While the Government has indicated that it has no immediate plans to reform abortion law in 2026โ27, it has also reaffirmed its intention to consult on the recommendations of the abortion law review advisory group and to establish a nationally commissioned later-stage abortion service in Scotland.
The advisory group, which excluded prolife voices and which adopted a principle of โnon-regressionโ on abortion provision, lacks both legitimacy and credibility. It has made radical recommendations to the Scottish Government which, if implemented, would effectively permit abortion up to birth for any reason and remove the current requirement for two doctors to approve abortions up to 24 weeks. It is astonishing that the report also recommends that future legislation should make no reference to s*x-selective abortion, paving the way for unborn babies to be aborted simply because they are deemed to be the wrong s*x.
I recognise the real fear, pressure and hardship that can accompany an unexpected or crisis pregnancy. Women in such circumstances deserve compassion, practical assistance, emotional support and the assurance that neither they nor their children will be abandoned. A truly caring society must respond to vulnerability by offering hope and help, not by making abortion more readily available at later stages of pregnancy.
The establishment of later-stage abortion provision in Scotland, alongside proposals to weaken existing legal safeguards, raises grave moral and social questions. Every unborn child is a unique human life deserving of protection, and every mother should be supported in ways that uphold her dignity and the dignity of her child. I therefore make a direct appeal to all elected representatives who recognise the inherent dignity of every human life, to reject any further liberalisation of abortion provisions in Scotland and to oppose measures that would remove essential safeguards or further weaken protection for unborn children.
I urge the Scottish Government and all MSPs to prioritise policies that expand support for women and families, reduce the pressures that lead to abortion, and foster a culture in which every life is welcomed and protected from conception to natural death. Scotland should aspire to be a nation where compassion means standing with both mother and child.
Bishop John Keenan
President of the National Office for Marriage, Family and Life, Bishopsโ Conference of Scotland
