While the abortion issue is not front and center in the upcoming UK election, a new poll suggests the British public is more strongly pro-life than their Members of Parliament.
The poll of 2,008 British adults, conducted by ComRes in May for Where Do They Stand?, a grassroots group that educates the public about the positions of their elected representatives, found that only one percent of the population – and one percent of women – support abortion up until the time of birth.
Additionally, 65 percent of the general population – and 70 percent of parents – agree consent of parent or guardian should be required for girls aged 15 or under to undergo an abortion.
Peter D. Williams, executive director of Right to Life in the UK, explained to CNSNews.com that he hopes the results of the poll will generate movement for reform in the next Parliament, perhaps especially with parental consent legislation for teen girls.
Williams said an MP would need to introduce a bill and then fight to guide it through the House of Commons and the House of Lords. He added that the debate about abortion is not viewed in the UK as it is in the United States.
“Abortion isn’t a party political issue in the U.K.,” he said, though more conservative MPs align themselves with the pro-life cause. “It’s a conscience issue.”
While some Democrats in the deep southern U.S. states, such as Louisiana and Mississippi, still claim to be pro-life, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez recently announced his party will no longer support any pro-life candidates.
Though the UK election campaign is dominated by issues such as those surrounding the recent Manchester terrorist attack as well as Britain’s exit from the European Union, the ComRes poll is released as 2017 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Abortion Act of 1967, which permitted doctors to agree to abortions if they deem a woman’s mental health to be at risk due to pregnancy.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) states the new poll “reveals a massive public backlash” against recent proposals to extend the abortion law. In March, MPs narrowly approved a bill that, if it had become law, would have allowed abortion up to birth for any reason.
Madeline Page, a spokesperson for Where Do They Stand?, tells SPUC, “This polling suggests that many candidates standing for election are out of touch with where the general public, particularly women, stand on abortion.”
SPUC spokesperson Dr. Anthony McCarthy agrees the poll “reveals how out of touch are those seeking to make abortion still more widely available.”
“The abortion industry wants us to believe that abortion is a ‘right’ and should be decriminalized,” McCarthy continued in a press release. “But it is becoming increasingly clear that most people know better in their hearts.”
“In fact, the public in Britain is uneasy about abortion, and women are particularly uneasy,” he added. “The poll further makes clear that people want independent counselling for pregnant women and better support for those who would like to continue their pregnancies but are under financial pressure to abort.”
Other results of the poll revealed:
- 70 percent of women would like the current time limit lowered.
- 59 percent of women would like the time limit lowered to 16 weeks or lower.
- 65 percent oppose UK taxpayer money being spent on abortions overseas.
- 93 percent of women want independent abortion counselling introduced.
- 91 percent of women want a sex-selective abortion ban.
- 79 percent want a five-day consideration period before abortion.
- 84 percent of women want improved pregnancy support for women in crisis.
- 76 percent want introduction of doctors verifying women not coerced.
The poll, conducted between May 12-14, 2017, was weighted to be representative of all GB adults.
“The political climate in the UK when it comes to the life issue represents a truth that we see at Americans United for Life,” Kristi Hamrick, a spokesperson for Americans United for Life (AUL), explains to Breitbart News. “The value you have for unborn life isn’t necessarily a partisan issue for voters; it’s a matter of conscience.”
“Life should be a bipartisan issue as we work together to protect women and respect the humanity of the unborn,” Hamrick adds. “Here in the U.S., we’ve seen that voters motivated by the abortion issue are more likely to vote for pro-life candidates, and reporting from Britain’s general election indicates that voters also want to see limits on late-term abortions.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.