Mar
25
2008

Beyond the Limit

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Nadine Dorries is going to name and shame MPs who have voted against pro-life positions. Today’s example is Laura Moffat, who couldn’t even bring herself last year to vote for counselling before women have abortions.

Laura Moffatt. Labour MP, Crawley. Majority 37.

Laura Moffat voted AGAINST counselling before the termination of pregnancy in 2007; and abstained during a vote to reduce the upper limit to 21 weeks.

Mrs Dorries justification for this naming and shaming is as follows

As a result of a number of polls, we know that the majority of the public, as many as 72 per cent, wish to see the upper limit at which abortion takes place, reduced from 24 to 20 weeks.

Many MPs, however, choose to use Parliament as a place to pander to their own preference, or ideology, rather than to represent the will of the people.

Each day, I am going to highlight MPs who may need to think very seriously when voting on the issue of reducing the upper limit to 20 weeks, because if they don’t, they may see their majorities wiped out at the next election.

I have no problem with abstention on an ethical conscience issue, if an MP truly does not want to compromise their own principles, and ensure that they do not misrepresent the majority of their constituents’ views.

However, trotting through the noe lobby on a 20 week amendment will be something entirely different.

Here on this blog I’ll be copying you into Nadine’s blog posts on this every day. If you’re a UK subject, write to your MP and ask them whether they’ll be voting in favour of the 20 week amendment.

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