Abortion not a poll issue - Blair

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BBC

Tony Blair does not believe abortion should be an election issue, arguing it is a matter for individual conscience.

The prime minister's spokesman set out Mr Blair's view after the top Catholic in England and Wales backed Michael Howard's stance on abortions.

The Tory leader supports a reduction in the legal limit from 24 weeks to 20 and has said current rules are "tantamount to abortion on demand".

The prime minister has made it clear he has no plans to the change the law.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4349581.stm

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1. Pro-life group to 'name and shame' MPs

By Paul Waugh Deputy Political Editor, Evening Standard
15 March 2005

Abortion was confirmed as a key general election issue today when it emerged that MPs are to be " named and shamed" by pro-life and religious groups.

The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) announced that it would reveal the views of all Parliamentary candidates in a bid to target those who opposed new curbs on abortion law.

Tony Blair also faced fresh pressure over the issue after the Roman Catholic Church backed Tory leader Michael Howard's call for a cut in the legal limit from 24 to 20 weeks. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor made a dramatic intervention in the election campaign by making clear that Labour was no longer the party of choice for Britain's six million Catholics.
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/17272966?source=Evening%20Standard