Tory leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt has sparked outrage after renewing his support for halving the legal abortion limit to 12 weeks.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the foreign secretary was asked about his views on abortion, having previously said he was in favour of reducing the legal time limit from 24 to 12 weeks, and whether it has since changed.
He said: “These are matters of conscience, yes, my view hasn’t changed on that.
“I respect the fact other people have very different views and that’s why these matters are matters for free votes in the House of Commons.”
On whether he would seek to change the policy if he was PM, Hunt said “it won’t be government policy to change the law” or to have a vote on it.
But he faced swift condemnation, with Labour MP Jess Phillips saying: “Did this one say he was a feminist, it’s hard to keep up with whose on drugs and who pretends to care about women.
“Jeremy Hunt how about we base this stuff on evidence and science and keep what you think is best based on no experience out of this.”
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, a charity that supports and campaigns for reproductive rights, outlined why it believed Hunt’s remarks suggested he didn’t think “women should be trusted to make their own decisions about their own bodies”.
Hunt said in a 2012 interview that he had reached his view after reviewing the evidence on abortion and said that, while he is a Christian, it was not a decision he had reached because of his faith.