Date set for hearing on abortion drug move

A LEGAL challenge over plans to allow pregnant women to take abortion-inducing medication at home will be heard in full in May.

Pro-life group The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) (Scotland) believes the Scottish Government’s move “amounts to authorising backstreet abortions”.

At an initial hearing in the case for judicial review at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, judge Lady Wise ordered a full hearin on May 14 and 15. The SPUC’S QC Morag Ross told her the legal arguments hinge on the interpretation of the 1967 Abortion Act.

The move comes after chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood confirmed in October she had written to all Scottish health boards indicating that the drug misoprostol could be taken by women outside a clinical setting, under plans using powers available within the Act.

She said women up to nine weeks pregnant could take the second dose of the drug at home if they wanted, saying this would allow them “more privacy, more dignity”.

The move has been described as “admirable” by Professor Lesley Regan, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

However, the SPUC claims the Abortion Act lays down specific rules for approved places where procedures can take place. They also argue that the Act demands the presence of medical, nursing or clinical staff.

SPUC (Scotland) chief executive John Deighan said: “The potential health risks for mothers and their babies are horrific.”