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Report calls for modernisation of Scotland’s Abortion Law

  • Area of Work: Policy and Research
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 17th November 2025

Independent expert panel review recommends major changes to align abortion law with modern clinical practice

The Scottish Government has published a review of abortion law in Scotland. The report, produced by an independent expert panel, recommends significant reforms to ensure abortion is treated primarily as a healthcare matter.

The review examined the Abortion Act 1967 as it applies in Scotland. The expert group concluded that the current framework is outdated, medically unjustified in parts and increasingly out of step with international human rights standards and modern clinical practice

The report highlights growing concern among clinicians about potential criminal liability in their work, alongside evidence that ambiguity in the law can obstruct equitable access to care, particularly for marginalised groups. International human rights bodies, such as the UN, have consistently affirmed that accessible abortion is essential to realising women’s rights and have criticised legal frameworks that create barriers throughout criminalisation.

Key Recommendations include;

  • Retaining the current 24-week gestational limit, but permitting abortions beyond this point under revised grounds and with continued approval of two clinicians
  • Removing the need for specified grounds or two-doctor approval for abortions under 24 weeks
  • Allowing any appropriately trained healthcare professionals – not only doctors – to provide abortion care, improving access and service efficiency
  • Removing all criminal offence relations to women who end their own pregnancy – including repealing the Concealment of Birth (Scotland) Act 1809
  • Avoiding court involvement in decisions for adults with incapacity or young people

Overall, the review argues that modernising the law is essential to safeguard women’s and reproductive rights, reduce stigma and support clinicians to deliver safe care.

Jenni Minto, the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, has welcomed the report as an important contribution to the wider review but emphasised that it represents only the Expert Group’s perspective. In a letter to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, Jenni Minto stated that the Scottish Government will undertake a dedicated programme of stakeholder engagement, to ensure that the “widest possible range of views” inform any future proposals.

The publication marks a significant step toward modernising Scotland’s abortion framework, with further engagement and evidence gathering expected before the Government sets out any potential reforms.

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