Deep splits over abortion law emerged in the Scottish parliament last night, 18 months before Holyrood is given the power to legislate in the area.
David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, announced last week that control over terminations, including the setting of time limits, would be handed to the Scottish parliament. He said the transfer of power would be included in the Scotland Bill, which is currently before the Commons, with Holyrood expected to gain control over abortion in 2017.
Nicola Sturgeon has already made it clear that she has no plans to introduce different time limits for abortion in Scotland. However, the split in views even within her party was exposed yesterday when John Mason, one of her MSPs, tabled a motion calling on MSPs to protect “fundamental rights of babies” both “before and after birth”.
Mr Mason’s move came after Patrick Harvie, the Green MSP, tabled his own motion, which was designed to reinforce the current position and warn against any tightening of the law.
The current law allows abortion to take place within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Other countries, mostly more religious states, have tighter laws.
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Mr Harvie’s motion, which was signed by four other parliamentarians, including Labour’s Malcolm Chisholm and Jean Urquhart, an independent MSP, promised to defend the law against “any attempt to undermine women’s access to safe and legal abortion in Scotland”.
Mr Mason’s motion, filed soon after, emphasised what he described as a “proper balance” between the rights of women and the rights of babies. He said he wanted to “bring balance” to Mr Harvie’s motion and confirmed he wanted to tighten the laws on abortion.
Such an early clash — before the handover of power is even debated in the Commons — is an indication not just of the strongly held views on both sides but of the wide spectrum of opinions that are now encompassed within the SNP.
Last night, Maureen Watt, the public health minister, set out the Scottish government’s position. She said: “The first minister has made absolutely clear that the Scottish government has no plans to change the law on abortion, including the current time limit.”
The Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP all backed the devolution of abortion but Labour warned against it.
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Jenny Marra, for Scottish Labour, explained last week why her party opposed the move. She said: “Scottish Labour firmly believes that the safest way to protect the current legal framework around abortion is for it to remain at UK level where there is a strong consensus around the current time limits.
“Leading human rights and women’s groups have said that devolving abortion law could undermine the right of women to make their own decisions.
“Scottish Labour want to see powers devolved for a purpose, like tax powers to invest in education, or welfare powers to protect our vulnerable, and we join a range of groups who believe that abortion law should stay at a UK-wide level, groups who the UK government have failed to consult with.”
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