Hansard

Our first new petition is PE2126. I have advanced it in the list of new petitions that we will consider this morning because we hope that Paul Sweeney will join us to discuss another petition but he has not materialised yet.

PE2126, which was lodged by Gemma Clark, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that abortion services are available up to the 24th week of pregnancy across all NHS boards in Scotland.

Members may recall that that ask formed part of a previous petition from Gemma Clark that the committee agreed to close on 23 November on the basis that the Scottish Government had committed to reviewing the law on abortion with the intention of publishing proposals for reform before the end of the current parliamentary session. Although the Government has committed to reviewing the law on abortion, the petitioner remains concerned that abortion services up to the existing legal limit of 24 weeks are not available across the country, with reports that only one doctor in Scotland is trained to provide surgical abortions, resulting in vulnerable individuals travelling to England to end their pregnancies.

We have been provided with a comprehensive briefing from the Scottish Parliament information centre that details the prevalence, procedures and provision of later-stage abortions in Scotland, which means those that are carried out between 20 and 24 weeks’ gestation. It is clear that health boards have variable policies on interaction with the individuals concerned and what they will fund in relation to provision of the service in England and any other associated costs.

It is also noted that no Scottish health board offers what the Abortion Act 1967 defines as “ground C” or “ground D” abortion services up to the legal limit of 24 weeks.

The requirement to travel to England to access services can carry emotional, physical and financial implications for pregnant women and girls. Examples of those implications are provided in the joint submission that we have received from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Back Off Scotland, which is included in the papers for today’s meeting.

It is important that we draw a distinction between the ethical issues that some may wish to raise, the existing legal position, and the provision of services to support that position.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service’s submission also raises concerns about systemic abortion stigma in the NHS and an unwillingness on the part of the Scottish Government to consider commissioning services outwith the NHS to deliver surgical abortion services in Scotland.

In its response to the petition, the Scottish Government says that it is

“working urgently with NHS boards and other stakeholders to determine the most appropriate way of ensuring abortion services are available in Scotland, up to 24 weeks' gestation, for all patients who require them.”

The response refers to work by the NHS National Services Division to develop the optimal delivery proposal for later-stage abortion services. However, as no health board has volunteered to host the national service, a short-life working group was established to recommend the most attainable and sustainable way of delivering services in Scotland. The response goes on to state:

“The Scottish Government is committed to providing funding to any commission that wishes to train to provide later-stage abortion services within Scotland.”

As we all consider the implications of the petition, does anybody want to offer a comment or a suggestion for action?

I suggest that we write to the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health to highlight the submission from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Back Off Scotland and to seek clarification of the Scottish Government’s unwillingness to commission an organisation outwith the NHS to deliver a surgical abortion service in Scotland, particularly as no health board has volunteered to host such a service. It is important to understand the distinction for women between a surgical abortion service and having to go through a natural delivery, which some women will find very difficult in those circumstances.

Might we also ask what consideration the short-life working group has given to the suggestion that systemic abortion stigma within the NHS is a barrier to the provision of later-stage abortion services in Scotland, including any action to address the perceived stigma?

Are colleagues content for us to proceed on that basis?

Members indicated agreement.