CATHOLIC church leaders have criticised Scottish Government plans to allow women to take an abortion pill in their own home.
In a letter to the First Minister, top ranking Scottish Catholics have asked for a meeting to start a “renewed discussion” on a law they describe as “profoundly destructive of humanity”.
Signed by Philip Tartaglia, Archbishop of Glasgow, Leo Cushley, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and the country’s six bishops, the letter says that “making abortion easier ignores the disturbing reality that an innocent human life is ended”.
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Under current legislation, a woman must take the pills for the medical abortion inside a hospital or licensed clinic. Scottish Government changes mean women can collect misoprostol and return home before taking them.
Abortion Rights say the current system means women take misoprostol in a clinic and often experience heavy bleeding an hour later on their way home.
Commenting on the letter, Jillian Merchant, vice-chair of Abortion Rights, said: “We welcome recent announcements by the Scottish Government regarding the provision in abortion services.The change in the licensing of one of misoprostol – so that it is available for home administration – is a long overdue change to abortion medication. This is a progressive move and one which is in line with modern medicine.”
The change in policy, Merchant said, “will end the horrendous experience of abortions commencing on public transport due to outdated legislation which takes no account of medical advances or the reality of women’s lives”.
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