Pro-life groups in Scotland threaten to sue government for allowing 'do-it-yourself' abortions at home

Pro-life groups in Scotland are looking into legal ways to challenge the government's controversial decision to allow pregnant women to take abortion drugs at home.

Scotland's public health minister Aileen Campbell has recently announced that women will now be allowed to take the abortion pill misoprostol at home rather than in an abortion clinic.

Chemical abortions involve taking mifepristone, which deprives the developing baby of necessary life-support, and misoprostol, which induces a miscarriage to expel it from the womb.

The current law in the U.K. mandates that both pills must be taken in an abortion clinic or hospital so that their condition may be monitored for safety.

Dr. Catherine Calderwood, the chief medical officer of Scotland, noted that Scotland was the first country in the U.K. to allow women to take the second pill at home.

The new regulation would allow women to take misoprostol at home if they are up to nine weeks pregnant, according to Life News.

Calderwood said that the move is "significant progress" because it gives women "more privacy, more dignity" when undergoing an abortion.

She had already informed health boards across Scotland that women may now obtain the pill from a medical facility and ingest it at home.

Pro-abortion activists have hailed the governments decision, saying women would be more comfortable taking misoprostol at home due to the discomfort that follows upon ingesting the pill.

Common side effects of the drug include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, and weakness.

However, pro-life groups have warned that there are severe health risks linked to the abortion drugs.

"Significant hemorrhaging and abdominal pain often occur and we are concerned about the health and safety of women, especially young people, who are using these pills secretly at home," said Clara Campbell, spokeswoman for the pro-life organization Life.

The Christian Institute noted that the Scottish government leaders made the decision without consulting the public or the parliament. The government contended that it has the power to change the administration of the abortion drugs under the 1967 Abortion Act.

John Deighan, chief executive of Scotland's Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said that the decision was "highly irresponsible" and claimed ministers may have "recklessly exceeded their powers".

"We have recently provided every Scottish Parliamentarian with solid evidence of the emotional and physical damage that abortion is having on women," he added.

"Do-it-yourself abortions are a much greater threat to mental health and this measure could one day prove to be a public scandal," he said.

He confirmed that his organization is taking legal advice on how to reverse the government's decision.

"The Scottish Government should be under no illusions. We will pursue the matter vigorously. If that means action through the courts we will pursue it as far as necessary," Deighan said.