On 19 June, the Scottish National Party (SNP) published its Manifesto for the upcoming 2024 General Election, to be held on 4 July.

Below are the key takeaways from the Manifesto in matters relating to pro-life issues:

Abortion

The SNP Manifesto pledges to “protect the right to abortion. We are clear that all women should have access to abortion services in a timely and safe manner. The UK Government should follow Scotland’s lead in reviewing the law on abortion to ensure that abortion is first and foremost treated as a healthcare matter.”

It also pledges to “immediately restore and maintain the UK international aid budget to 0.7%”, which may fund pro-abortion organisations abroad.

Assisted Suicide

The Manifesto makes no mention of assisted suicide.

Family Support

The SNP pledge to “increase paid maternity leave to one year, with maternity pay set at 100% of average weekly earnings for the first 12 weeks, then 90% for 40 weeks or £150.00, whichever is lower. The UK Government should increase shared parental leave from 52 to 64 weeks, with the additional 12 weeks to be the minimum taken by the father on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis, in order to encourage an increase in shared parental leave.”

The Manifesto also pledges to “scrap the two child benefit cap” and “end the young parent penalty in Universal Credit which sees under-25s receiving considerably less”.

SPUC General Election Tool – Value your Vote

SPUC has created an online tool to help supporters and British citizens contact their Parliamentary candidates and ask them how they intend to vote on abortion and assisted suicide. It is vital that pro-life people use their vote to elect pro-life MPs. Every vote matters.

Click here to access the tool.