§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the recent comments by the Secretary of State for Health, they intend to provide Government time to a Private Member's Bill designed to further liberalise the United Kingdom's abortion laws. [HL293]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Baroness Jay of Paddington)The Government take no collective view of the ethical issues of abortion and have no plans to use Government time for debate on Private Members' Bills on abortion. All Private Members' Bills introduced are judged on their merits at the time and are subject to normal Parliamentary procedure.