Rob McDowall

This drastic and entirely anticipated move to overturn Roe v Wade is not just a travesty for those in the US who support abortion as healthcare, but will have ripples across the world.

The behaviour of society is controlled and tempered by a mixture of laws and customs and practice. We understand as members of a democratic society that there are some restrictions on the way we conduct ourselves and behave due to the impact our actions have on others. None of us exist in isolation.

1 in 5 people in Scotland have a disability and according to the cross-party One in Five project disabled proportionate representation in Parliament would see us return around 23 disabled MSPs. We currently have one disabled MSP in Jeremy Balfour (Conservative).

A minute or two on Twitter or Facebook and you'll come across someone telling you that the COVID pandemic is overblown and hospitals are supposedly laying empty and collecting dust. We hear that your neighbour's cousins boy has an NC in Sports Science and spent a few nights researching on Reddit.

Chronic pain patients in Scotland are fed up with remote appointments which do little or nothing to help improve their condition. The NHS needs to reopen to those in chronic pain and move forward to a future of living with COVID19.

Newspapers, online media outlets and social media platforms seem to be perpetually awash with those who, if we believe the narrative, are gripped with fear of having their usual and comforting traditional Christmas celebrations curtailed.

Lothian MSP Jeremy Balfour has faced significant criticism by politicians across the spectrum including Labour, SNP, Greens and Liberal Democrats who question his judgment in laying this insulting amendment in the first place.