SCOTLAND’S bishops have criticised Health Secretary Jeane Freeman after the Government lifted restrictions on allowing early medical abortions at home during the coronavirus.

The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, Bishop Hugh Gilbert, described the move as “profoundly depressing” and accused the Scottish Government of trivialising the procedure.

But the churchman’s intervention was described as “entirely unsurprising” by Abortion Rights Scotland. The Catholic Church was, they added, “an organisation which completely opposes a woman’s right to make decisions over her own body”.

Early medical abortion, which can take place in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, involves taking two different types of medicine.

Before the lockdown was introduced, women in Scotland could already take the drug misoprostol at home, provided they had first taken the drug mifepristone in a clinic 24 to 48 hours beforehand.

However, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the previous chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, told the country’s NHS boards to allow women having an early medical abortion to take both abortion pills at home, following a consultation by phone or video.

In his letter to Freeman, Bishop Gilbert said he found the decision “deeply troubling”.

He said the sending of the medication by post trivialised “what is an extremely serious and life-changing procedure” and claimed “vulnerable women in unsatisfactory domestic circumstances” were “particularly at risk”.

He also suggested women requesting an abortion should be given counselling.

“I believe it is profoundly depressing that in the midst of this unprecedented global pandemic, when the resources of almost every government on earth are being diverted towards the preservation of life, especially the lives of the weak and vulnerable, the Scottish Government continues to act to end the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society, the unborn. It is more than disheartening that the Scottish Government should see fit to promote ‘abortion at home’ as though this were a trivial matter equivalent to taking any other medication at home.

“A position like this appears to be more a matter of ideology than of genuine and dispassionate concern for women’s wellbeing.”

Jillian Merchant of Abortion Rights said: “This intervention from the president of Scotland’s Catholic Bishops is entirely unsurprising from an organisation which completely opposes a woman’s right to make decisions over her own body.

“The suggestion that women should undergo counselling prior to making decisions over their own body is not only offensive, and suggests that women do not know their own minds, but is not a legal requirement for an abortion under the legislation – even before this most recent change.

“In this time of crisis, Abortion Rights commends the Scottish Government for ensuring that women who require abortion healthcare can access this without putting themselves and healthcare professionals at risk.

“The Scottish Government change was made on the advice of healthcare bodies including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) which represents medical professionals on the ground, during this crisis.

“Accessing abortion by telemedicine is already recommended as best practice by the UK guidelines and this change brings Scotland’s system in line with this.”

Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: http://www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.