LAW ON ABORTION (Hansard, 23 March 1967)

§ Q1. Mr. St. John-Stevas
asked the Prime Minister whether he will recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission to investigate the facts and law in relation to abortion.

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)
No, Sir.

§ Mr. St. John-Stevas
Naturally, I regret that reply. In view of the abhorrence with which millions of citizens of every faith and of none regard the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. We cannot discuss the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill. It is before a Committee.

§ Mr. St. John-Stevas
May I ask the Prime Minister it he will reconsider that negative decision, in view of the anxieties felt by millions of citizens of all religious faiths and of none, who are deeply concerned about the possibility of having legislation without adequate knowledge of the facts?

§ The Prime Minister
As the whole House knows—none more than the hon. Gentleman—this is a very important and highly controversial matter, a matter on which the House should be left to come to its own judgment. If, at the end of proceedings which it would clearly be out of order for me to refer to, the House 1909 made its views clear in the sense indicated in the hon. Gentleman's Question, the Government would obviously have to give very close consideration to any such expression. But the House must be free to make its own decision on the matter.

§ Mr. David Steel
Has the Prime Minister noticed that the demands for a Royal Commission have come only after the introduction of a Bill in this House?

§ Mr. Speaker
The Bill is before a Committee and the hon. Gentleman cannot refer to it now.

§ Mr. David Steel
Does the Prime Minister recall that the Birkett Committee before the war found its work hampered by lack of information on illegal abortions, and would not any new inquiry be equally frustrated by that lack?

§ The Prime Minister
It is not for me at this time to express a view on whether all the facts required are available. The House, which has facilities for discussing the matter, will form its own view on whether it has all the information required, and perhaps on whether a further inquiry could or could not get more information than is at present available.