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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 22 December 2024
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Displaying 1019 contributions

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Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

Perhaps it would not be about leaving out the ability to do that, but about making it so that it is not just at ministerial discretion and that Parliament might be involved in some way.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

The bill has the ability to be extended to other places, such as general practices or pharmacies. We certainly heard evidence from other people suggesting that those areas might be protected.

My concern is that, if we have 200m around every GP practice and pharmacy, most of Scotland might be covered by the bill. I am therefore asking about the proportionality of that extension. Hospitals and clinics are different, and that extension into other areas would be of concern.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

I want to separate out “protest”—which is people with placards and pictures and shouting and screaming—and “silent prayer”. They are two very different things. Everyone we heard from said that protest, in the form that I described, is unacceptable. The silent prayer part is where people disagree. When I asked the police, they said that they would not ask why somebody was there, and that they certainly would not ask what they were thinking or whether they were praying. If the police are not going to enforce it in any way, which is what it sounded like, could you explain having that in the bill?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

You have referred to the letter from the Law Society. I will paraphrase what it says. Towards the end, it says that you could include the overarching principles in the bill to make it clearer. Might you be willing to do that?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

What are your thoughts on that?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

—and shouting at people going into a facility or—

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

Do you feel that that is right, or that it is wrong?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

I will be quick. Bishop John, you have handed me some leaflets. I am a doctor, and I think that facts matter. There is really concerning misinformation in the leaflet that I am holding up. It says that one in 17 women ends up in hospital following an abortion, that 100 abortions fail and that evidence suggests that abortion may increase the risk of breast cancer. I could go on. The leaflet that I am now holding up also talks about breast cancer. This next leaflet is factually incorrect. I have googled the figure that it refers to and one of the things that that organisation says on its website is that, with God’s help, it has closed 100 abortion centres. You might disagree with me on whether the leaflets are factually correct, but are they acceptable?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

I want to end on this theme. We have people who go to work in hospitals, and they should be able to do so without feeling distressed. We have people who are accessing healthcare. It does not matter what that healthcare is—we accept that they should be able to access it without distress. Do you accept that what is happening around Scotland—and potentially around the UK, although we really care about Scotland, because that is where our Parliament is—can and does cause distress to healthcare workers, as we heard from other panels? Do you think that that is fair?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Dr. Sandesh Gulhane

Thank you.