Edinburgh Council to lift a block on abortion information websites

Edinburgh Council said it would stop blocking access to abortion information websites, after facing criticism from a pregnancy advice charity.

The council took the steps after being accused of 'taking an anti-abortion stance' by pro-choice campaigners.

A freedom of information request revealed the council did not allow employees or school pupils to access information on abortion.

The only accessible website containing abortion information was the NHS page.

City of Edinburgh Council said web-filtering software had inadvertently blocked some sites, such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which campaigns for women's reproductive choices, provides a helpline and appointments, and signposts women to treatment.

Katherine O'Brien, associate director of campaigns at BPAS, welcomed the move to lift the block.

She said: "Abortion care is healthcare, and it must be treated as such.

"Blocking abortion information is not a neutral stance - it is taking an anti-abortion position."

Adam McVey, City of Edinburgh council leader, said: "Like every large organisation, the council uses web-filtering software to improve cyber-security and to protect our staff but this can occasionally result in sites being inadvertently blocked.

"This was the case with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service's website and was an unintentional output of the system.

"The team are grateful for this being brought to their attention and this is being rectified as a priority to ensure colleagues can freely access the charity's resources through the council's network.

"The team are also taking the opportunity to review which other sites and resources which may be being blocked so that these can be made accessible by colleagues too."

The council did not answer questions about whether it blocks male health sites.

Reporting by local democracy reporter Joseph Anderson.