By Rev Stephen Allison, Public Engagement Co-ordinator for the Free Church of Scotland
Over the past year many Christians across Scotland have contacted their MSPs regarding the Assisted Dying Bill. We were encouraged to see MSPs vote down the bill at Stage 3. The defeat of the bill demonstrated the importance of thoughtful Christian engagement and prayer. But there is now another significant life issue on the horizon that has received far less public attention but which could have profound implications for the protection of unborn life and freedom of conscience in Scotland.
The Scottish Government is currently considering major reforms to abortion law following the publication of the Expert Group on the Review of Abortion Law in Scotland. The SNP’s 2026 Holyrood election manifesto committed the party to taking forward a consultation on the Expert Group’s recommendations, making future legislation a real possibility.
While no Bill has yet been introduced, the proposals would represent some of the most significant changes to abortion law in Scotland since the Abortion Act 1967.
What Is Being Proposed?
The major recommendation is that abortion should be treated primarily as a healthcare matter rather than a matter of criminal law.
In the last year the UK Parliament has removed criminal liability for women ending their own pregnancies in England and Wales, including outside the existing legal framework. However, the Scottish proposals go significantly further. Whereas the recent changes in England and Wales relate primarily to criminal liability for women acting in relation to their own pregnancies, the Expert Group recommends removing abortion-specific criminal offences more broadly and regulating abortion primarily through healthcare law and professional regulation.
Currently in Scotland, an abortion is legally permitted up to 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Abortion Act 1967, with limited exceptional grounds allowing abortion after 24 weeks. To proceed lawfully, the procedure must be approved in good faith by two doctors under specific statutory grounds – most commonly risk to the physical or mental health of the woman. The Expert Group’s proposals are to remove the requirement for any statutory ground up to 24 weeks – essentially introducing abortion on demand up to 24 weeks in Scotland.
And as though that wasn’t bad enough they are also proposing a broader test after 24 weeks, where two appropriately qualified healthcare professionals agree that an abortion is appropriate after considering:
(a) the gestational age of the fetus;
(b) all relevant current and reasonably foreseeable medical circumstances of the patient and the fetus; and
(c) the patient’s current and reasonably foreseeable physical, psychological and social circumstances.
The proposed test would significantly broaden the circumstances in which abortions after 24 weeks could be authorised.
The experience of the current law demonstrates how broadly framed grounds can expand in application over time. The existing provisions relating to risk to mental or psychological health are now interpreted so widely that they are relied upon in the overwhelming majority of abortions carried out under the current framework. There is therefore legitimate concern that similarly broad criteria after 24 weeks would, in practice, permit abortions at very late gestations in almost any circumstance where a healthcare professional considered continuation of pregnancy to involve greater physical, psychological, or social risk than abortion.
Why Does Decriminalisation Matter?
At present, abortion law recognises that abortion is unlike most other medical procedures because it intentionally involves the ending of unborn human life.
For that reason, the law contains safeguards, certification requirements, gestational limits, reporting obligations, and criminal offences designed to regulate when and how abortion may lawfully take place.
The Expert Group proposes removing abortion-specific criminal offences and regulating abortion primarily through healthcare law and professional guidance. Supporters argue that this would modernise an outdated legal framework but the truth is it would remove important legal protections and further diminish society’s recognition of the value of unborn life.
As Christians, we believe that every human being is made in the image of God and possesses inherent dignity and worth from conception to natural death. For that reason, the Church has long believed that unborn children deserve legal protection and that society should be especially cautious about removing safeguards designed to protect the most vulnerable. Questions concerning the protection of unborn life therefore deserve careful and serious consideration. We are deeply concerned that these proposals risk permitting abortion up to birth on broad psychological or social grounds.
The Free Church’s Response
The Free Church of Scotland’s Public Engagement Group recently submitted a substantial response to the Scottish Government’s stakeholder consultation process. Our response raised concerns about decriminalisation, the removal of safeguards before 24 weeks, the weakening of the 24-week limit, conscientious-objection protections, and the treatment of abortion as simply another area of healthcare.
At the same time, our response emphasised the need for compassionate support for women facing crisis pregnancies, protection from coercion and abuse, and practical care for those experiencing difficult circumstances.
Our full response can be read here.
A Call to Prayer
As Christians, we are called to speak the truth in love. Issues surrounding abortion involve profound questions of human dignity, compassion, justice, conscience, and the protection of vulnerable life. For that reason, this is not an issue that Christians can afford to ignore.
Please pray:
- for unborn children;
- for women facing difficult and unexpected pregnancies;
- for healthcare professionals seeking to act with wisdom and integrity;
- for MSPs and ministers considering the proposals;
- and for opportunities to bear faithful witness in the public square.
Should a public consultation follow, the Free Church Public Engagement Group will provide guidance and resources to help members respond.
This is not a debate that has yet received widespread public attention. But it is one that Christians should be praying about now.