Scotland’s abortion law “not fit for purpose,” expert report finds, amid single sex termination outcry

Scotland should decriminalise abortion and remove the requirement that two doctors certify an abortion before 24 weeks’ gestation, an independent review has recommended.1The Scottish Government commissioned the Abortion Law Expert Group to independently review the country’s existing abortion law and ensure that services were “safe and treated first and foremost as a healthcare matter for women.”The expert group agreed unanimously that current Scottish abortion law “is not fit for purpose” and that the current model was “anachronistic, paternalistic, and failed to reflect best modern practice.” The group made 36 recommendations including removing women from any criminal law relating to abortion.No specified grounds should be required to access abortion care up to 24 weeks, the report recommended. This recommendation has led to an outcry from anti-abortion campaigners who claim this would make sex selective abortions legal. But the advisory group said there was a lack of evidence to suggest women seek…