Regan King comments on pro-abortion proposals made at the Scottish Liberal Democrat's Spring Conference and shows why they are so wrong.
The Scottish Liberal Democrat Party (SLDP) Spring Conference has unveiled a string of pro-abortion policies that it will call upon the Scottish Government to adopt.
Conference discussions referred to recent decisions by the British Medical Association, Royal College of Midwives, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to back pro-abortion lobbyist’s calls for total abortion decriminalisation. Attention was also given to the ongoing buffer zone debate that threatens to exclude pro-life counsellors from operating or praying outside abortion clinics.
Abortion remains a crime throughout the UK, except in certain circumstances outlined in the Abortion Act (1967) that have been applicable to England, Scotland and Wales. With the Scotland Act (2016), abortion law was devolved to the Scottish Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can amend, add to, or take from current abortion legislation as it sees fit.
As a result of discussions at its Spring Conference, the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party produced a list of measures that they desire the Scottish Parliament to enact, measures that clearly show the SLDP to be a pro-abortion party.
The Party calls for
- All criminal sanctions for receiving an abortion to be removed
- All criminal sanctions for medical professionals providing an abortion to be removed
- All abortion clinics to have buffer zones enforced, making it illegal to engage in any pro-life activity outside abortion clinics.
- All abortion clinics to be provided with funding to perform free abortions for clients regardless of country of nationality or residency.
Why Scotland should not decriminalise abortion
Decriminalising abortion removes any moral standard or code for abortion practice from legislation. A nation’s laws are meant to reflect and hold to an objective moral standard. Decriminalisation trivialises legitimate moral concerns, casts negative stats about abortion aside and portrays abortion as morally neutral - something it is not.
Decriminalising abortion removes the possibility of justice for carrying out dangerous DIY and sex-discriminating abortions.
Decriminalising abortion could see some doctors, nurses, and midwives’ jobs put at risk should they conscientiously refuse to carry out abortions, which would be a further injustice.
Decriminalising abortion promotes sexual irresponsibility. Abortion is increasingly viewed as a more extreme form of contraception. Around one third of abortions in Scotland each year are repeat abortions. In 2015, 78% of abortions in the UK were procured by single women, revealing a clear link between promiscuous behaviour and abortion.
Decriminalising abortion would endanger women, leading to a more open market for presently-illegal abortion pills. Convenient and non-intrusive, these pills will likely see increased usage. Although decriminalisation will see certain abortion crime statistics (including the sale of these pills) go down, the reality of dangerous practice will remain.
'Abortion free for all'
Scotland’s Liberal Democrat Party is literally proposing free for all abortion to anyone at any stage. A child could be aborted the day before it’s due date for birth with no legal repercussions, but if the same child was killed after exiting the mother’s womb, it would be classed as murder. While calling for decriminalisation of abortion, the party is simultaneously proposing that pro-life counsellors who seek to offer a different choice to women apart from abortion be criminalised for any activity outside abortion clinics. These proposals are not progressive, they are regressive and reflect a society that has its morality and ideals well and truly upside down.