Officials say there is no evidence that abortion providers at the NHS do not attain informed consent during care
Scotland’s chief medial officer and the national clinical director have stood against claims by an SNP MSP that informed consent is not always sought by NHS staff during abortion care.
In a letter, both Gregor Smith and Jason Leitch have said there is “no evidence” abortion providers are not seeking informed consent from patients.
The letter is addressed to Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who previously asked both men to give assurances there was no evidence to support John Mason’s claims.
Mr Mason, a SNP MSP, had sparked outrage by claiming clinics “push abortion without laying out the pros and cons”, which Nicola Sturgeon described as “wrong”.
Mr Mason previously told The Scotsman there was “considerable scepticism” around the requirement for informed consent during medically approved abortions in Scotland.
The response disregarding Mr Mason’s claims comes as Gillian Mackay launched her Bill to implement anti-abortion protest buffer zones outside hospitals and clinics across Scotland.
The Green MSP said she “doubted” politicians such as Mr Mason would get in the way of the Bill being implemented.
She said the Bill sought to “protect women from harassment” by allowing them to access healthcare “in peace”.
The Bill launch follows a recent rise in anti-abortion protests outside hospitals in Scotland.
In response to Ms Lennon, both officials state: “There is no evidence to suggest that abortion providers are not seeking informed consent from patients.
"All patients have a consultation with either a doctor or a nurse (either via telemedicine or in person) before they proceed to have an abortion.
"During that consultation the doctor or nurse will discuss the details of the procedure and options available and confirm whether the patient wishes to consent to proceed with a termination.”
Abortion care providers are required to obtain informed consent from patients prior to an abortion being carried out. The only exception to this is in very rare cases. where the patient does not have capacity to provide informed consent.