PROGRESS IN LINE WITH ADVANCES IN MEDICINE

WE understand that the Scottish Government is set to make abortion pills available for home administration. This is a hugely welcome announcement for women’s access to abortion, one which is both progressive and in line with modern medicine.

Abortion is vital, routine healthcare that around one in three women will experience in her lifetime. Home administration will mean the current rigmarole – of a woman requiring to attend the hospital to be provided with the first pill and then sent home, only to have to go back to hospital to be administered the second pill and then sent back home again – will be a thing of the past.

It will end the horrendous experience of abortions commencing on public transport due to outdated legislation which takes no account of medical advances or the reality of women’s lives.

The flexibility of home administration will undoubtedly benefit women who struggle to access services for a range of reasons including domestic abuse, inability to get time off work and childcare arrangements. It will also be of benefit to rural women who struggle geographically and financially to access licensed clinics. Too often finding enough money for the required travel and accommodation for those who live a long distance from a hospital is a huge obstacle in access to abortion.

The change brings Scotland in line with the United States, France and Sweden, which allow women to take abortion pills at home. Indeed, women in Scotland are permitted to take this medication at home at present, but only following a miscarriage.

This demonstrates the medication is perfectly safe and that there is no clinical reason why it cannot be taken at home. It is 50 years this week since the Abortion Act 1967 was given Royal Assent.

The Act was a breakthrough for women’s rights and, indeed, human rights. This was achieved through the tireless campaigning of the Abortion Law Reform Association.

Though 50 years old, the Act remains embedded in a framework of criminal law sanctions, with little relevance to the advances in medicine which have occurred and the clinical practice of today.

It is welcome that, 50 years on, small changes are beginning to be made to update the law, ensuring equality of access for all women. We look forward to further updates and improvements in Scotland’s abortion care services in the future.