The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee will conclude its work this Parliament in March 2026 ahead of the next Scottish Parliament election. So the Committee has time to complete its work, it has agreed not to consider petitions submitted after 10 October.
The Committee will continue to meet but given the volume of petitions and agreed work programme it is unlikely that the Committee would be able to meaningfully progress work on petitions submitted after 10 October ahead of the election. Petitions lodged after this date will not fall when the Parliament is dissolved and will be for the successor committee to consider in the new session.
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Closed petition PE1991: Develop an educational resource on abortion
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to work with Education Scotland to develop a health focused and stigma challenging educational resource on abortion, and make it available to all secondary schools in Scotland.
Previous action taken
Written to MSPs, tweeted MSPs and decision makers calling for policy reform. I have also written blogs on abortion education and submitted a motion to the EIS union.
Background information
I believe it is essential for all young people to receive medically accurate and health focused education on abortion. I believe that challenging the stigma surrounding abortion is also essential for a well-rounded sexual health curriculum.
Research carried out by the Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) teacher’s union in 2013 found that in many of Scotland’s local authorities, abortion is either not discussed in schools or is only discussed as part of an RE lesson. This could be a direct violation of the United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC applies to everyone under 18, and children under 18 can and do get pregnant. Articles 3 and 17 are particularly relevant.
Article 3 – “the best interests of the child must be a top priority”
Article 17 – “every child has the right to reliable information from a variety of sources…”
This petition was considered by the Scottish Parliament
1,048 signatures