Battle for the babies

In the US, abortion is the political hot potato. But at Westminster it rarely gets a mention. Until now. Could abortion become an issue in the coming General Election?

In the United States, abortion has long been the issue that divides the left from the right.

Pro-life, pro-right in the USA

President George W Bush, keen to draw a line under the Clinton era, made it his first achievement to block state funding for overseas pro-abortion groups.

As he signed off the executive order, thousands of pro-lifers held their annual march in Washington to protest against the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalised abortion across the US.

Yet in the UK, abortion has never been a party political issue. Until now, perhaps.

The big issue

The UK legalised abortion in 1967

The shadow health secretary, Liam Fox, has called on his party for a "huge restriction, if not abolition" of the practice.

His views, outlined in the new Conservative Christian Fellowship prayerbook, are seen as the latest attempt by the Tories to secure the religious vote.

Is the stage set for US-style anti-abortion tactics to be used over here?

Powerful lobby group

Peter Kellner, a polling expert and columnist for the Evening Standard, says abortion will never be truly political in the UK.

Abortion is not a party politicial issue in the UK

This is because it is regarded as a proper issue for a free vote in Parliament rather than something a major party might champion.

"Our politics is secular in a way that American politics is not," Kellner says.

"In the US, the whole abortion debate is very much tied in with what it means to be a right-winger. It's part and parcel of the whole religious conservative perspective."

President Bush, for instance, allied himself with the anti-abortionist lobby during last year's bruising election campaign.

"There's no doubt that a lot of the money and impetus behind Bush's campaign came from the religious right because he backed their stance."

Crossing the floor

In the UK, relatively more Conservatives take the traditional values stance, while Labourites tend to be more liberal - much the same as with other "conscience" issues such as fox hunting and capital punishment.

But there will always be cross-party voting on the issue, Kellner says, as MPs are free to vote in line with their constituents' views.

"It will never be a matter of party policy. The most you may expect is a manifesto for a free vote on changing the abortion laws."

Power to the people

In Scotland, where the proportion of Catholics is higher than in England, church leaders had hoped that devolution would turn up the political heat on abortion.

It is more of a political issue in Scotland than south of the border

Rennie McOwan

Rennie McOwan, of Catholic newspaper The Tablet, says: "When the Scottish Parliament was set up, leading Catholics saw it as a means to an end.

"They particularly thought that they'd be able to exert more pressure on the politicians than in a UK context."

But that didn't come to pass, Mr McOwan says, as the main political parties are in broad agreement on the issue.

"They are against abortion on demand, and they are against easy abortions."

It is customary for Catholic groups to quiz candidates on their stance on abortion, "so in that sense, it is more of a political issue than south of the border".

George W Bush: Spoke out against abortion

Professor Sheila McLean, of Glasgow University's law and ethics department, has said that abortion is potentially a hotter political potato in Scotland because of the well-organised anti-abortion lobby.

This includes the militant Precious Life Scotland campaign, which targets abortion clinics, GPs and pro-choice politicians.

And Cardinal Thomas Winning, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, set up a scheme to pay pregnant women to keep their babies. One was a 12-year-old girl.

But the pro-lifers on this side of the Atlantic wield but a fraction of the influence exerted by their US counterparts.

"Had Bush taken a different view on abortion, he may well not have had the numbers to win [the election]," says Kellner, "especially since it was such a close-run race."