Hansard

In opening the debate for Scottish Labour, I thank the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee for producing its stage 1 report, the clerks for assisting the committee in its work and all of those who gave evidence on the matter. I also thank Gillian Mackay for introducing the legislation and for working across parties to achieve its aims.

On a personal level, I have been supportive of the introduction of safe access zones to protect women who are accessing abortion services. It has long been my view and that of my party that Scotland ought to be leaders in this area. However, the Government has been slow to act, which means that Scotland has to catch up with other parts of the UK. That situation could have been avoided. The various summits and conversations that the former First Minister led did not lead to any sort of prompt action, as we predicted would be the case at the time. Having said that, I make it absolutely clear that Scottish Labour supports the member’s proposed legislation. It is right that we take all steps that are necessary to protect women accessing abortion services, and I believe that the introduction of safe access zones will achieve that.

The truth is, as we have heard, that access to abortion clinics is access to healthcare, and we cannot continue to condone the intimidation that women face when accessing healthcare to which they are rightfully entitled. All members understand that visiting a healthcare setting can be worrying and stressful for a variety of reasons. Women accessing sexual health services, specifically abortion services, could be going through an extremely challenging, emotionally traumatic and physically draining time in their lives. We heard about that in our evidence taking, and we heard about feelings of stress resulting from the presence of intimidating behaviours. Women need to have safe access to the services and advice that they require, and the bill will work to achieve that.

I turn to the stage 1 report and the response to the committee from the member in charge of the bill. Scottish Labour supports the committee’s view that restrictions must be proportionate to the legitimate aims of the bill. We are of the view that any restrictions on human rights that are imposed by legislation must be kept to an absolute minimum, and we are content that the bill achieves that aim.

We could debate many areas, but, of course, we have time restrictions, so I will focus on three key areas that I consider to be important to get right as we go through the next stages of the bill.

I agree that robust post-legislative scrutiny will be absolutely required to obtain an understanding of how the legislation is working, and I agree with the committee’s recommendation on that. I am pleased that the member in charge of the bill has accepted the committee’s view, and that she will seek to lodge amendments to resolve the issue. The member will work on a cross-party basis, so I believe that those amendments will deliver the reassurance that the committee has sought.

On a similar point, Scottish Labour is of the view that a commonsense approach to implementation is absolutely required. That will require individual cases to be considered in relation to their own set of circumstances. The report states that

“operational management of enforcement of the legislation will have a critical role to play in ensuring its appropriate implementation.”

I consider that to be a key point, and I would be interested to hear from the minister on the Government’s view on ensuring that implementation is as successful as possible.

It is important that the bill protects the rights to engage in trade union activity in relation to the advancement of workers’ rights. The right of workers in our health service to protest and call for better pay and terms and conditions, for example, must not be undermined indirectly by any legislation. The committee’s recommendation to expand the exemption relating to trade union activity to allay trade unions’ concerns that such activity may be considered as an offence is important, and I hope that the member will continue to engage with the trade unions—specifically our health trade unions—to identify what work might need to be carried out to allay any further fears on that matter.

Finally, the issue of silent prayer came up on various occasions when the committee took evidence. As noted in the committee’s report, members held different views on that. On a personal level, I am reassured by the clarity that Gillian Mackay provided in her letter to the committee, and I know that she will work with others to ensure that we get this right, as she has been very helpful in our discussions.

Once again, I reiterate Scottish Labour’s support for the bill at stage 1, and I commit my party to working with Gillian Mackay to improve the bill in many of the areas that members have spoken about so far and, I am sure, will speak about, to ensure that the bill enters its next stages with as much cross-party support as possible. The bill is clearly required to protect women’s access to abortion services.