PRO-CHOICE campaigners have called on the First Minister to include plans to decriminalise abortion in the next Programme for Government.

Ahead of Holyrood heading into recess for summer on July 1, Abortion Rights Scotland (ARS) held a protest outside of the Scottish Parliament on Thursday afternoon following FMQs.

Activists called on MSPs to take action following the case in England where a mum-of-three was jailed for taking abortion pills at home outwith the legally mandated period.

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The case caused outrage across the UK, and has re-energised calls for abortion to be decriminalised in Scotland, after powers over the policy area were devolved in 2016.

However, the Scottish Government said that they would look at decriminalisation by the end of the current parliament, rather than next term.

Campaigner Ann Henderson told the crowd of gathered supporters from Engender and other feminist organisations: “We felt when we saw what happened in England with the sentencing of the women who had taken abortion pill at home, that criminal punishment was not the answer, that was not the right way to deal with that situation.

“And it's a very sharp reminder that for both women and staff, practitioners, everybody involved in the process actually are still covered by criminal legislation.”

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Henderson added that while the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861, the legislation the mum-of-three was imprisoned under for 28 months, doesn’t apply in Scotland, but the 1967 Abortion Act does, and that still requires the signature of two doctors and a number of conditions.

Henderson added that the group brought people together before recess, adding: “Not least to remind the First Minister of promises made during his SNP election campaign that he would bring forward the necessary measures to decriminalize abortion in Scotland within the next year.

“So we're hoping, expecting, looking forward to that being drafted into the Programme for Government in September.”

Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay, the party’s health spokesperson and who is leading a members bill on buffer zones around abortion clinics to stop anti-choice protests, told the crowd that the legislation is “one small step on the journey to getting abortion care to where it needs to be”.

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“Decriminalizing is the next step forward,” she added.

“That prosecution in England was not in the public interest and its left three young children without their mum and a woman further traumatized by something that she should have been able to get safe access to.

“So you have my commitment from my party, and I'm sure several other parties from across the chamber that we will push for change on this.”

Dr Audrey Brown, an abortion healthcare specialist and ARS campaigner, pointed to the numerous professional bodies who support decriminalization.

“They see that abortion remaining a criminal activity has been a deterrent to people seeking care, and it also impedes us providing the best care that we might be able to,” she said.

Women’s Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “The Scottish Government believes that all women should have access to abortion services should they require them within the specified term limits, and the First Minister has committed to exploring a review on the law on abortion to ensure that it is first and foremost a healthcare matter, rather than focused on criminal law, by the end of this Parliament.”