Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to fully decriminalise abortion, in light of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) Concluding Observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the recommendation to be guided by the World Health Organization’s 2022 Abortion Care Guideline.
The Scottish Government committed in the 23-24 Programme for Government to undertake a review of abortion law to identify potential proposals for reforms to ensure that abortion services are first and foremost a healthcare matter.
To take this forward, the Scottish Government established an Expert Group in August 2024 to examine the current law; international examples; a range of stakeholder views and other evidence will be published in due course.