MSPs hear call to completely decriminalise abortion in Scotland

A petition has been lodged at the Scottish Parliament calling for abortion to be completely decriminalised north of the border.

Under current provisions, an abortion can only be carried out up to 24 weeks, unless a baby has a disability or a mother's life is at risk.

Scottish abortion campaigners want to see all penalties removed so that a women can access abortion up to term for any reason.

The petition, which focuses on 'pregnant people', claims that the Abortion Act 1967 ignores "a great many reasons for seeking an abortion" including "not wanting to be pregnant".

And it criticises the fact that a women who deliberately seeks to end the life of her preborn baby after the legal limit remains "at risk of prosecution".

CARE has consistently called for changes to abortion law in the UK to bring the country in line with the majority of European nations, which place a lower legal limit on the practice.

2017 polling commissioned by Where Do They Stand showed two thirds of Britons want the abortion time limit reduced from 24 weeks.

CARE also campaigns for an end to the provision allowing abortion up to term in cases of disability, which has been described as "downright discrimination" by disabled people.

Find out more about the law concerning disability abortion, and the excellent campaign for change being waged by disability activist Heidi Crowter, here:

Abortion and Disability – What Does The Law Say? | CARE