HUNDREDS of women have been forced to travel from Scotland to England to access abortion care in just over four years, according to official data, with pregnancy services claiming numbers are growing year-on-year.
The largest number of women who made the journey from England to Scotland between January 2019 and May 2023 – 67 – were from the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area but eight travelled the long distance from the Highlands. In the same time period, 33 women had to travel south from Fife, 38 women from NHS Lanarkshire and 35 women from the Lothian health board area.The numbers are increasing.
BPAS said surgical abortions should be made available in Scotland, with the lack of available abortion services adding stress and confusion at what can be a distressing time. Access issues are not confined to Scotland. Data published by BPAS in 2018 revealed how women across Britain were being forced to continue with unwanted pregnancies, as they could not access an abortion before the 24-week upper time limit. Women in England also sometimes have to travel to different parts of the country to access abortions.
“We have countless women getting in touch with us to share their stories of having to travel so far to get such basic care, and we are at a loss as to what the Government is actually doing to rectify this issue,” said founder of Back Off Scotland, Lucy Grieve. It’s now a year since MSP Gillian Mackay committed to implementing anti-abortion buffer zone legislation “as soon as possible”. In May, First Minister Humza Yousaf said “no one should doubt my commitment to buffer zones”. However, legislation has yet to be tabled. Women have warned the delay is having serious impacts on their health and wellbeing.
Because the protesters target clinics where a wide range of health services are on offer, women are targeted even when they are not accessing abortion.“A small group of individuals, mostly male, were standing on the other side of the road. I was repeatedly called out to by one of the men, and when I glared at him and ignored him, he called me a ‘teenage murderer’. I have never been pregnant, I have never had an abortion and I’ve never even used a contraceptive medication.