A leaked motion on abortion in the Scottish National Party’s draft conference agenda has triggered a wave of concern from pro-life advocates and church leaders after new analysis suggested abortion has become Scotland’s leading cause of death.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) published an analysis in August using official abortion figures alongside mortality data from National Records of Scotland, concluding that the loss of unborn life now exceeds deaths from cancer, heart disease and dementia. The group highlighted that Scotland recorded 18,783 abortions in 2025, an increase of nearly 55% compared with 2016, and contrasted that figure with 16,486 deaths from all cancers, around 7,000 from ischaemic heart disease and 6,612 from dementia. SPUC’s general secretary Michael Robinson said the figures reveal “a stark reality” and called abortion “the number one cause of death in Scotland today” if human life is recognised from conception.
Against that backdrop, a draft agenda for the SNP’s autumn conference, leaked to the Scottish daily The National, included a motion urging the party to reform abortion law by removing criminal penalties from women who end their pregnancies. The text asks members to note “with concern” that Scotland is the only part of the UK that has not modernised its laws to remove legal penalties from women under the Abortion Act 1967, and argues the country is failing to meet international health and human rights standards for access to healthcare. A briefing circulated by pro-life organisation Right To Life UK, drawing on the leaked document, warned that the proposed changes would make it no longer illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason, including sex-selective abortions, and at any point up to and during birth.
SPUC responded by urging the Scottish Government to address what it described as “record abortion figures” and a public health crisis. In comments carried by Catholic media, the organisation argued that rising abortion rates combined with the proposed decriminalisation motion demand an “urgent reassessment” of national health priorities and stronger protections for unborn children and women in difficult pregnancies. The group framed its intervention as part of a wider campaign to resist further liberalisation of abortion law and to press ministers and Members of the Scottish Parliament to consider the long-term social and ethical implications of the leaked SNP motion.
Scottish Catholic bishops also raised concerns after the agenda leak, with reports in the Catholic Herald noting their opposition to any move that would expand access to self-administered abortions or weaken existing safeguards. The bishops characterised the motion as deeply troubling, warning that decriminalising self-managed abortions could increase risks to women and normalise late-term terminations beyond current practice. They called for legal protections for both mothers and unborn children to be maintained and encouraged Catholics to engage constructively in public debate ahead of the SNP conference.
The Free Church of Scotland’s Public Engagement Group has separately outlined its concerns in a response to the Scottish Government’s stakeholder consultation on abortion law, published on the denomination’s website. The submission questioned proposals to decriminalise aspects of abortion, to remove safeguards before 24 weeks of pregnancy and to weaken the existing 24‑week limit, and it defended conscientious objection protections for healthcare professionals. At the same time, the Free Church document emphasised the importance of compassionate support for women in crisis pregnancies, protection from coercion and abuse, and practical care for families facing difficult circumstances.
These debates are unfolding alongside an official expert review of abortion law in Scotland commissioned by the government, whose report examines potential reforms and their implications for healthcare and maternal outcomes. The leaked SNP motion indicates that party activists may seek to align conference policy with broader calls to “catch up” with other parts of the UK on decriminalising aspects of abortion, a theme highlighted in coverage by The National. If adopted at the conference, the motion could shape the governing party’s stance and be taken forward in government or championed at Westminster, prompting continued engagement from SPUC, church bodies and other stakeholders as Scotland considers the future of its abortion law.