There are many reasons why pursuing decriminalisation would be wrong for Scotland. To hear more extensively, please attend one of our RIGHT SIDE events.
Pro-choice activists say decriminalisation wouldn't mean no regulation - they envisage abortion being regulated not by the law, but by healthcare professions.These proposals are anti-democratic. Abortion regulations such as those which prohibit abortion in certain situations should be determined by elected representatives who are accountable to the public, not by groupings within the professions. |
Decriminalisation campaigners claim that abortion should be regulated like "any other medical treatment" (so there should be no need for special grounds, time limits, authorisation by two doctors, etc). Ann Furedi, CEO of BPAS, has acknowledged that the vast majority of abortions in the UK are performed not for medical reasons, but simply because the pregnancy is "unwanted". Few other medical treatments are sought for social reasons.
Abortion is unlike other procedures performed on patients because it involves the deliberate ending of human life. Human right laws explicitly state that the right to life applies to all human beings. |
Few studies have been done in the UK regarding long-term affects of abortion on a woman's physical or mental health. International studies show that abortion may not actually serve women, and may be doing more harm than good to their health.
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