Hansard

PE1996, which has been lodged by Calum MacKellar on behalf of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, calls for action to prevent discriminatory abortions for disability in Scotland. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to legislate to ensure that abortions cannot take place after 24 weeks in circumstances where the child is likely to have a disability. The petitioner highlights that section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967 enables termination up to the point of birth if the fetus has a disorder but restricts termination to 24 weeks if the fetus has no disability. The petitioner feels that that sends a discriminatory message that a non-disabled child’s life has more worth and value than that of a child with a disability. Responding to the petition, the Scottish Government has said that it recognises that the issue of terminating a pregnancy where a fetus is likely to have severe physical or mental abnormalities is a deeply emotive one. It has stated: “The Scottish Government equally values the contribution of all members of society and opposes any discrimination on the basis of disability.” The committee will be aware from its consideration of related petitions that the Scottish Government currently has no plans to amend the Abortion Act 1967. In response to the view that the Scottish Government has offered, the petitioner has highlighted the lack of explanation for why the provision exists. He suggests that section 1(1)(d) of the 1967 act enables a woman who could arguably cope with a disabled child to terminate the pregnancy because she believes that having a non-disabled child is preferable to having a disabled child. The petitioner notes the Marie Stopes UK position paper that is referred to in the SPICe briefing, which suggests that introducing an upper gestational limit for abortion on the ground of fetal abnormality could have the unintended consequence of pressuring women to make a difficult decision in a relatively short period of time, potentially increasing the number of abortions. The petitioner feels that the Marie Stopes UK position paper does not develop or emphasise the legal context of the 24-week limit. He notes that the 24-week limit reflects an important and meaningful fetal development stage at which it is considered that a healthy fetus is deserving of protection, whether or not the fetus may eventually become a burden. Do members have any suggestions for action in relation to the petition? I certainly studied the briefing that we received with some care.