Women’s minister ‘disappointed’ Scots still having to travel for late abortions

Scotland’s women’s health minister has said she is “disappointed” that some women still have to travel to England for late term abortions.

Jenni Minto made clear that she did “not believe it is an acceptable situation” as she said the Scottish Government wanted such services to be provided “as soon as is safely possible”.

Her comments came after Rachel Clarke, head of advocacy for abortion providers at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), claimed that there is “no drive in Scotland” for such services to be provided.

While abortion is permitted up to the 24th week of a pregnancy in the UK, there are concerns that women in Scotland can only have a termination here after 20 weeks in cases where there is either a foetal abnormality or the woman’s life is at risk.

This leaves some women having to travel to England, with BPAS reported to have provided 88 late-term abortions from women in Scotland in 2024 – up from 67 the previous year.

There is no drive in Scotland and hasn’t been for a very long time for these services to be provided.

Ms Clarke told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme that there has “never been the desire” to carry out late-term terminations in Scotland.

She added: “Instead they send women down to England and that has been the case since as long as the Abortion Act has been in place, since 1967.”

Ms Clarke insisted: “There is no drive in Scotland and hasn’t been for a very long time for these services to be provided.”

She blamed a “lack of willingness” at “managerial level” for the situation, with Ms Clarke saying: “Abortion is a really routine procedure, one in three women will have an abortion in their lifetimes, more than 270,000 were provided across the UK every year.

“So the idea that Scotland as a whole can not come up with one service for these women to access it north of the border – I think is upsetting for those women, and it is unbelievable, really.

“There are doctors in Scotland who are trained to do this procedure, we know there are nurses who are willing to be involved in providing the procedure.

“The issue seems to be as far as we can tell at a managerial level, where the willingness of health board people who need to decide if you get a theatre, decide if you get any bed space.

“The willingness just isn’t there. The understanding of women just isn’t there.”

Ms Minto however said she was “working closely” with Scottish Government colleagues and health boards to “find solutions to match the requirements of the Act”.

She told how a “task and finish group” had been established to “ensure we are providing abortion services to those women who require them after 20 weeks’ gestation” – adding that this group could finish its work within the next six months.

The women’s health minister added: “What I have been discussing with Scottish Government officials and health boards is ensuring that we can have the right circumstances within health boards across Scotland to provide the required need for later stage abortions in Scotland for all women that require them.”

She said this had “taken time”, with Ms Minto stating: “I am disappointed about the length of time it has taken.”

But she added: “I believe we now have a way to ensure that will be happening as soon as possible, as soon as is safely possible.”

She continued: “I live on an island, I completely understand the trauma of having to travel for any type of healthcare.

“That is why I am very understanding and want to see this service brought into the health boards in Scotland.”

Ms Minto stressed: “We are investigating everything we can do to ensure this service is happening in Scotland, no proposals are off the table.”