Abortion debate: keep party politics out of it

When he was shadow Health Secretary, Dr Liam Fox appeared to suggest that the Tories should become the anti-abortion party. In 2001 Fox was quoted in the Conservative Christian Fellowship prayerbook as saying that the UK's 'pro-abortion laws' should be scrapped.In 2005 Michael Howard almost made abortion a general election issue when, towards to start of the campaign, he told Cosmopolitan magazine 'I believe abortion should be available to everyone, but the law should be changed. In the past I voted for a restriction to 22 weeks, and I would be prepared to go down to 20.'

It is because of examples like this that I am just a little sceptical about the new campaign launched today by the Tory MP Nadine Dorries. A former nurse, Ms Dorries is leading a parliamentary campaign to reduce the upper limit for abortion from 24 weeks to 20 weeks when the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is debated in the Commons later this month. The last time the law on abortion was amended was in 1990 – given the fact that both medicine and science have advanced significantly one cannot agree that a review of abortion legislation is long overdue.

At present, all legislation on abortion in Britain is considered as a matter of conscience and decided under a free vote. What worries me is that some MPs and campaigners may use the forthcoming debate as a means of polarising attitudes where the issue of abortion is seen only of terms of being a vote winner, or a vote loser. Today’s Daily Mail leads on the launch of Ms Dorries’ campaign and will no doubt be a strong advocate of the need for a change in the present law. Britain has a long and enviable record of allowing its elected representatives to make up their own minds in matters of conscience. The danger, as I see it, is that some of Ms Dorries’ colleagues may well be tempted to frame the debate about abortion in such a way that it heralds the first tentative steps to try and establish a political arm for the Christian right in Britain.

Ms Dorries has stated that the campaign is not a religious campaign (yet 6 out of the 10 organisations linked to it are backed by Christian evangelicals) nor, we are told, is it politically motivated. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Comments

[Jenny]

I'm passionately in favour of choice on abortion but disagree with your view that this is no place for politics. Access to abortion is as much a political issue as access to any other form of healthcare. If it's recognised that there is a role for political parties in deciding how, where, when and at what cost people can access broader health services why not abortion? It's no doubt a measure of concern that pro-choice supporters don't want to 'politicise' this issue for fear of losing a vote on the matter. But it's only through active campaigning and political action that any positive moves towards improving women's access are established. It may be a matter of conscience for individual women whether or not to have an abortion, but the state has a duty to ensure that this choice is available. I feel it is shameful that progressive politicians and parties are able to stand back on this issue and not take a political view on access to this vital healthcare provision.

[Mike Ion]

Jenny

My point was that I do not think making a major party political issue (as in the US) would be a good idea. Down that road you will find the sad towns of despair and despondency - often populated by the reactionary and the bigoted.

[Jas]

never understood the LP atitude to abortion? Either we are against capital punishment, illegal wars and other gratuitous killing including the unborn or we're in an illogical mess? Also we shoud be on the side of the weak and defenceless not idly ignoring the mounting tide of abortions? Of course there are "hard cases" and desperate situations but not in the numbers we see now in a relatively prosperous country. Feminists may scream and rage but it has nothing to do with anyone's "right to choose" when the odds are stacked against one party.