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The ALLIANCE signs joint letter to Police Scotland on Abortion Investigation Guidelines

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 23rd June 2025
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Women's rights, health and human rights groups call for rejection of new police guidance on investigating pregnancy loss.

The ALLIANCE has joined Engender and 27 other leading civil society and health organisation in writing to Chief Constable Jo Farrell calling on Police Scotland to publicly reject new guidelines that could subject women experiencing pregnancy loss to invasive criminal investigations, under existing abortion laws.  

The updated guidance, released last month by the UK National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), has been criticised by women’s groups, human rights organisations and medical practitioners for undermining fundamental rights to dignity, privacy, and compassion within healthcare.

The World Health Organisation has called on governments to stop arrests, investigations and prosecutions for abortion and to suspend the criminal law being applied to pregnancy loss. The NPCC guidance comes after a rise in abortion related criminal investigation and prosecution of women in England and Wales.

Signatories call on Police Scotland to: 

  1. Publicly clarify that NPCC recommendations on abortion and stillbirth will NOT be adopted in Scotland 
  2. Develop new guidance creating an effective moratorium on abortion investigations, aligned with WHO recommendations 

Signatories include Engender, Abortion Rights Scotland, Young Women’s Movement, Back Off Scotland, Humanist Society Scotland, Close the Gap, Scottish Women’s Convention, Scottish Women’s Budget Group, Zero Tolerance, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Abortion Care Providers Network, Faculty for Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Scotland, Amnesty International UK, Scottish Women’s Aid, Royal College of Midwives, STUC, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Equality Network, Scottish Trans, Equate Scotland, Human Rights Consortium Scotland, British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Women’s Enterprise Scotland, Liberty, Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, Amma Birth Companions, NUS Scotland, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), Inclusion Scotland. 

The full letter written to Chief Constable Jo Farrell can be found here on Engender’s website: https://www.engender.org.uk/content/publications/2505-Police-Scotland-NPCC-letter.pdf 

Engender’s report on decriminalising abortion can be found here: https://www.engender.org.uk/content/publications/ENGENDER–FINAL-DECRIM-REPORT—21-05-24.pdf. 

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