THE SNP have been urged to ensure health boards in Scotland offer abortion care up to 24 weeks into pregnancy after the party’s politicians at Westminster abstained on a vote to introduce buffer zones south of the Border.
Last week, MPs supported proposals to introduce anti-protest safe access zones around abortion clinics and hospitals in England and Wales but the SNP group in the House of Commons opted to remain neutral.
The law does not apply in Scotland, where Green MSP Gillian Mackay is pursuing change at Holyrood.
Although SNP MPs generally choose not to vote on issues which do not affect Scotland, there was some anger over their approach on this occasion given Scottish women have been forced to go to England to access late-stage abortion care because it is not offered in Scotland.
Teacher Gemma Clark has gathered more than 1500 signatures on a Scottish Parliament petition calling for health boards to offer abortions up to the legal allowance of 24 weeks.
And she has said if the SNP are going to abstain on improving abortion care access in England, then they should make sure there is sufficient provision up to 24 weeks of pregnancy in Scotland.
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Clark said: “I would say it’s even more important they ensure there’s provision now, with them having abstained on a vote that could have improved the situation [of accessing abortion care] a little for people.
“I wouldn’t have minded them abstaining on it if it wasn’t something that affected Scottish people but it does so they’ve now got a responsibility to fix that and make sure women aren’t having to travel to England.”
It emerged earlier this year that not a single health board in Scotland offers services up to the 24th week of pregnancy.
Clark’s petition – which closed this week – also calls for abortion to be decriminalised in Scotland. Abortion currently remains illegal under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Abortion Act of 1967 ensured people could get a termination but only under certain circumstances.
The process requires the approval of two doctors and any termination beyond 24 weeks of a pregnancy is considered to be illegal and women can be prosecuted.
Clark said she was disappointed her petition did not gain more signatures as she felt momentum was lost by an 11-week wait to get it approved.
But she added she had had a lot of positive responses, and said we must go beyond introducing buffer zones to truly kick out stigma.
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Clark said: “I’d hoped there would be more [signatures], but it took 11 weeks to get approved so it did feel like there was quite a lot of momentum lost in that time.
“I think there’s been quite a positive response though. I think people hadn’t thought too much about this 1960s law that we’re still affected by.
“Buffer zones are a brilliant step in the right direction and I think we need that but we need to go further.
“I think seeing what happened in America shows how easily your rights can get taken away and there are people in Scotland who do want to take rights away.
“I think [changing the law] would ward protesters off a lot. It’s healthcare, so why is it criminalised? I think that sends the wrong message and encourages stigma.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “Healthcare is a devolved issue and the Scottish Government is taking the necessary action to create buffer zones to protect people in Scotland, and improve access to all healthcare services for women in Scotland.
“It is vital that women have the right to access all healthcare services, including abortion services, fully and without fear or intimidation.
“The Scottish Government has been clear that they are working to improve access to abortion services in Scotland, which includes providing appropriate support for women having later-stage abortions – and our Programme for Government commits to considering what further actions we need to take to embed women’s rights to safe access to healthcare in the future.”
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