{"id":238239,"date":"2021-01-18T13:40:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T19:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=238239"},"modified":"2023-11-14T20:26:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T02:26:00","slug":"scottish-bioethicist-diy-abortion-babies-flushed-toilets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/scottish-bioethicist-diy-abortion-babies-flushed-toilets\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottish bioethicist concerned that DIY abortion will lead to more babies flushed down toilets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Right to Life UK<\/a>) A prominent Scottish bioethicist has argued<\/a> that proposals to introduce DIY abortion in Scotland on a permanent basis undermines the \u201cappropriate and sensitive respect for the disposal of the remains of the embryo\/foetus.\u201d<\/p>\n

DIY home abortions, whereby a woman seeking a medical abortion up to ten weeks\u2019 gestation is able to complete it at home, were introduced<\/a> in Scotland at the end of March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. While this was introduced as a temporary measure, the Scottish Government has just completed receiving submissions to a public consultation asking whether this change should be made permanent.<\/p>\n

Dr Calum MacKellar of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics argued against the making \u2018DIY\u2019 abortion permanent in Scotland.<\/p>\n

Dr MacKellar said<\/a>: \u201cOne significant challenge, amongst others, with these partial or complete home abortions, however, is the destiny of the remains of the embryo\/foetus\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said that under the normal circumstances of an abortion in a hospital, foetal remains are disposed of \u201cwith appropriate respect\u201d.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0\u2018Where do you put 65 million bodies?\u2019: How the abortion industry disposes of aborted children<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWith home abortions, however, appropriate and sensitive respect for the disposal of the remains of the embryo\/foetus does not generally take place since these are usually flushed down the toilet or discarded as waste in another manner. An outcome which may cause considerable distress to some vulnerable women having an abortion as well as the persons supporting them at home\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may happen because of their possible grief, especially when they see the dead embryo\/foetus, which is up to 3-6cm in size at about ten weeks of gestation and which ends up in the sewage\u201d.<\/p>\n

He went on to argue that: \u201cIt may also create very significant trauma to other professionals, such as sewage and plumbing professionals, if they ever encounter these dead human embryos\/foetuses in the course of their work\u201d.<\/p>\n

MacKellar concluded that: \u201cScottish society cannot, therefore, continue to let the remains of embryos\/foetuses simply be discarded as worthless waste\u201d.<\/p>\n

No in-person consultation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other sections of society have also voiced their objections to making DIY abortion a permanent feature of Scottish law. Late last year, in a comment piece in the Times<\/a>, John Mason, the SNP MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, raised concerns<\/a>about the lack of in-person consultation:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no entirely reliable way to verify the stage of pregnancy without an ultrasound or physical examination\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe abortion provider [BPAS] has already announced<\/a> investigations of nine cases of women taking abortion pills beyond the ten-week limit, while police in England are investigating the death of an unborn baby after the mother took home-abortion pills when she was 28 weeks\u2019 pregnant\u201d.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Baroness Stroud made the same point when she highlighted<\/a> that \u201cthere are at least 52 cases officially reported to the Department of Health and Social Care of women who were provided pills-by-post beyond 10 weeks\u2019 gestation, including one case where the unborn child was at 28 weeks\u2019 gestation (beyond the legal limit)\u201d.<\/p>\n