Leaders of the Roman Catholic church provoked a storm of protest yesterday when they called on voters to consider withholding support from candidates in the general election who support a woman's right to have an abortion.
Women's sexual health groups reacted furiously after Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the church in England and Wales, said voting against pro-abortion candidates was for the "common good" of the nation.
At the launch of a document entitled Vote for the Common Good, the cardinal said abortion should be top of the list of questions a constituent should ask. "Clearly, what we would be saying to people is that a candidate's attitude on abortion should have quite considerable sway, but it shouldn't be the only matter. We've made the importance of human life clear, and we would feel quite strongly about it."
A spokesman for the Brook Clinic, which provides free sexual advice for young young people, said it was a "sad day" if people were being told how to vote. "We would consider that to be a backward and disappointing step. We don't want to see a return to the days of back street abortions."
A spokeswoman for Marie Stopes International, which performs abortions and provides sexual health advice, said: "We strongly believe in women's right to choose. Women should be able to do what's best for them."
The Conservatives, who have tried to turn abortion into a political issue, welcomed the cardinal's remarks. David Lidington, home affairs spokesman, said the issue was a matter for each MP's conscience, but added: "Moral questions can never be divorced from politics, and the bishops are to be congratulated for their strong support for marriage and the traditional family."
Liam Fox, shadow health secretary, was roundly criticised this year when he called on Tories to "pray [for] a huge restriction, if not abolition, of our pro-abortion laws".
The Catholic church's 16-page document, to be circulated to its churches in England and Wales this month, also calls on voters to question candidates about euthanasia and embryo research. The church has led the protests against the decision by MPs and peers to allow scientists to harvest "stem" cells from early-stage embryos for research.
The document says: "Most recently a moral chasm has been opened by parliament's decision to permit the creation and destruction of cloned human embryos. It is possible that in the next parliament attempts may be made to legalise euthanasia. To do so would be both wrong and dangerous. Whatever the motive, euthanasia amounts to murder. The candidate's view on these and other issues should be considered before voting."
Robin Lovell-Badge, head of developmental genetics at the National Institute for Medical Research, said he could not understand why the church had decided to speak out on embryo research after parliament had spoken. "The number of people affected by diseases such as Parkinson's runs into millions, and they would be appalled if there was yet another attempt to derail a sensible decision," he said.
"There has been so much debate on this, and the majority of people in this country seem to favour research. Why don't [those opposed to it] believe in democracy?"
