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GLASGOW, Scotland | Monday 9th November 2026-The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has welcomed the intervention of the Bishop of Aberdeen following the SNP’s controversial decision to cancel a conference event addressing the reality of coerced abortion in Scotland.
Bishop Gilbert has written to Emma Roddick, SNP MSP for Inverness and Nairn after she publicly defended the cancellation declaring that “SPUC has no place at SNP conference”.
SPUC’s planned fringe event, No Law to Protect Her: The Reality of Coerced Abortion, was due to take place at the SNP’s annual conference in Aberdeen in October. Featuring an all-female panel the event sought to highlight the absence of a specific criminal offence in Scotland for coercing a woman into having an abortion. Despite having secured its booking months earlier, SPUC was informed of the cancellation just six days before the event.
The controversy has raised serious questions about freedom of expression, political intolerance and the willingness of Scotland’s governing party to engage with concerns surrounding abortion coercion. Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has also criticised the cancellation warning against allowing those who disagree with particular viewpoints to determine which voices may be heard.
SPUC maintains that protecting women from coercion should transcend political and ideological differences. The organisation has challenged the SNP to explain why an event examining abuse against women was prevented from taking place, particularly when its stated purpose was to strengthen legal protections for vulnerable women.
SPUC continues to pursue accountability over the decision and is considering legal action.
ENDS
All media enquiries: michaelrobinson@spuc.org.uk
