DELEGATES to the STUC women’s conference voted yesterday to make it easier for women to get abortions in Scotland.

CWU delegate Joyce Stevenson moved a motion calling for the Abortion Act 1967 to drop the required permission from two doctors before a termination is carried out, a position also supported by the British Medical Association.

Ms Stevenson said it was the only medical treatment which needed authorisation from two doctors and was “wholly unhealthy, unfair and unjust,” putting “unnecessary barriers” in front of women and girls seeking abortion.

FBU delegate Denise Christie moved a separate motion calling for action so that abortions can be given to women up to the legal limit of 24 weeks in Scotland. Ms Christie warned that late-term abortions for non-medical reasons are not usually permitted in Scotland, forcing women and girls to travel hundreds of miles to seek terminations. Many women aren’t granted abortions after the 18-week mark as it is only made available in extreme cases of foetal abnormality or risk to the life of the mother.

She attributed it to negative attitudes to abortion among medical professionals and wider society coupled with a lack of training in dealing with late-term abortions.

Ms Christie told conference that “abortion is a trade union issue and it is up to us to stand up for women and a woman’s right to choose.”

The move comes on the back of the recent announcement that abortion law will be devolved to the Scottish Parliament, which may come under pressure from anti-abortion lobbyists and religious groups.

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