The Scottish Government has announced plans that would likely vastly increase the number of places offering late-term abortions.

Following the release of statistics showing the second highest abortion numbers ever in Scotland, the SNP-led Scottish Government has released its “Women’s Health Plan” for 2021-2024.

The plan outlines proposals to prioritise increasing “access to abortion services” throughout Scotland, which would involve increasing the number of abortion clinics and hospitals that provide later-term abortions. This is described in the report as providing “mid-trimester abortion care locally or regionally for all indications” which would involve abortions taking place between 13 and 28 weeks.

The change in policy would mean that Scotland would go from having almost no locations providing abortion beyond 18-20 weeks gestation, to a situation where abortion is available at later gestations “locally or regionally for all indications”.