Description
The Scottish Abortion Care Providers (SACP) Conference was held on Friday, 21st February 2025, at the University of Edinburgh.The event was organised by John Reynolds-Wright in collaboration with the SACP network, and with support from co-organiser Nicola Boydell. It brought together over 90 participants from various Scottish NHS health boards. Attendees included frontline abortion care providers, policymakers, academics and advocacy organisations, contributing to discussions on clinical advancements, policy development and access to care. This network meeting was supported by funding from The SCOPE Project and the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Regeneration and Repair, through their Centre for Reproductive Health Engagement Fund. Additional sponsorship was provided by Gedeon Richter Ltd. and Organon (neither organisation influencing the programme content).
The conference began with a welcome from Professor Sharon Cameron, co-chair of SACP, followed by updates from the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland on key policy developments and emerging data. The morning also featured two interactive workshops: one focusing on co-designing models of post-abortion contraception, led by members of the SCOPE Project Team (Dr Nicola Boydell, Dr Marie Larsson, Dr John Reynolds-Wright and Professor Jeni Harden), and another exploring pain during medical abortion, led by Dr Carrie Purcell from the Open University.
In the afternoon, a “Hot Topics” session provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions on a variety of issues in abortion care, ranging from pain relief options to medical advancements and later-stage surgical abortion. The session also covered topics such as antibiotics in medical abortion, evidence on the use of anti-D and breastfeeding during medical termination of pregnancy.
The day concluded with closing remarks from Sarah Wallage, co-chair of SACP, who highlighted the key takeaways from the conference and the opportunities to further enhance abortion care services in Scotland. The event successfully facilitated collaboration, knowledge exchange and learning to support improvements in abortion practice, policy and research.
| Period | 21 Feb 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Edinburgh, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | National |