Women could abort babies because of their sex under ‘dystopian’ and ‘morally repugnant’ plans being considered by Scottish ministers.
A review commissioned by former first minister Humza Yousaf proposes a complete overhaul of abortion laws in Scotland and says there should be an automatic right to termination.
So-called Sex-Selective Abortions (SSAs) are currently illegal under UK law, but SNP government advisers have insisted that women should be allowed to abort their babies for any reason – even if they are terminating a pregnancy because they do not want a daughter or son.
The review group, led by Scottish women’s health champion Professor Anna Glasier, admitted the practice is most common in ethnic communities and argued a ban could lead to ‘racial profiling’.
Critics last night branded the plans ‘totally disgusting’ and said the changes were being made to ‘appease certain minority groups that prefer boys over girls’.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘This is a totally disgusting idea from a party that has run out of ideas. The sooner Scotland is rid of the SNP, the better off Scotland will be.’
Tory equalities spokesman Claire Coutinho added: ‘Killing babies because they are the ‘wrong’ sex is a dystopian nightmare that would be more suited to Communist China than Britain.
‘Sex-selective abortion has no place in Britain, and adopting it would be the very opposite of progress.
‘Time and again, this version of equality seems to leave women at the bottom of the pile to protect other cultural sensitivities.’
The extraordinary review, which SNP ministers have said they are considering, recommends allowing abortions at any time up to birth if two medical professionals – doctors, nurses or midwives – agree it is appropriate, and also proposes to fully decriminalise termination.
The 165-page review report was published on Friday and claimed there was no need to explicitly ban terminations based on the desirability of the sex of a child because it was ‘unnecessary and potentially harmful’.
While claiming there was a ‘lack of robust evidence that SSA takes place in Scotland’, the report’s author, Professor Glasier, then went on to admit it does happen in ethnic communities.
She said: ‘[The review group] believed that any prohibition would be unworkable in practice, requiring either intrusive and inappropriate questioning of all women regarding their motivation for seeking abortion, or racial profiling and additional questioning of a smaller proportion of women from ethnic communities where sex selective abortion is believed to be practised.’
Appearing to accept that communities may practise aborting one sex over another, she said denying a woman an SSA would be wrong, as it would be ‘compelling a woman to continue a pregnancy she wanted to – or was being pressured to – end’.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: ‘The idea that this barbaric practice could be put into place to appease certain minority groups that prefer boys over girls is morally repugnant. Scotland slides further into the moral abyss under the SNP.’
Andrea Williams, the chief executive of Christian Concern, said: ‘We see this in Islamic nations, in Hindu nations and in China. We have seen it in communist secular countries. How can this be progress? How can this be called a women’s right? It is a right turned on its head. It is where selfishness prevails over selflessness and good law.’
Serious concerns have also been raised about the possibility of so-called ‘abortion tourism’, which could see English and Welsh NHS patients cross the border in order to secure an abortion more easily.
The alarming changes are part of a broader review into Scottish abortion laws which is expected to conclude next May.
They could come into law as early as next year.
Shadow Scottish Secretary, Andrew Bowie, said: ‘This is an extremely sinister move by a government that is in hock to the radical elements driving social change in our country.
‘This cannot be allowed to take place. The SNP must come out and deny they are considering this move right now.’
However, Jenni Minto, the SNP minister for women’s health, said: ‘We will take time to carefully consider all the findings and respond in due course.’
I don’t care what a person’s religion teaches them… this red line must not be crossed
By Sarah Vine
We all know why selective abortion based on the baby’s sex is not allowed in Britain, but we’re not supposed to say it.
I shall probably be condemned as a bigot, but I shall say it anyway because, quite frankly, I’ve just about had enough of politicians – and the SNP especially – treating women and girls like trash and acting like our rights are secondary to everyone else’s.
Selective abortion based on gender is not allowed because certain religions or cultures believe that a female child is less desirable than a male child – and because those who subscribe to those beliefs will, if they can get away with it, terminate a pregnancy if the baby is a girl.
Sometimes those people will do so by consensus; sometimes they will do so because they are coerced, either by a family member or their partner.
Women may even find themselves ostracised for carrying a girl, made to feel that they have brought shame on their family. That is terrible, and traumatic.
But the solution is not to make it easier for misogynists to kill baby girls, which is effectively what this proposal would allow. The solution is to challenge these antediluvian beliefs, make it clear that they are not acceptable in British society – and provide help and support for the victims of them.
It should be a criminal offence to terminate a baby purely on the grounds of its gender. No ifs, no buts – jail time. Any other course of action effectively gives the green light to a state-approved system of sex-based eugenics.
Quite apart from being morally wrong, it can be disastrous for society. Look at China, where the one-child policy led to parents getting rid of female babies for precisely this reason, leading to a gender imbalance.
I don’t care what a person’s religion or culture teaches them; there are red lines that cannot and must not be crossed. This is one of them, alongside female genital mutilation, child marriage, forced marriage and first-cousin marriage, which can and frequently does lead to severe developmental issues and lifelong disabilities.
These things have no place in a civilised society. They may be allowed in other parts of the world where women are so oppressed or so indoctrinated they have no voice or agency.
But here, in the UK? Absolutely not. Shame on the SNP for even vaguely contemplating this.
