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Prime Minister Stephen Harper sharpened his message on abortion Thursday, saying political parties have no business trying to “impose” a position on politicians when it comes to matters of morality and personal faith.

Harper was reacting to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s statement this week that all of the party’s MPs — including existing members of caucus — must vote pro-choice if the abortion issue arises in the next Parliament.

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The prime minister’s reaction went beyond previous statements in which he promised the Conservative party would respect people with a range of “deeply held views.”

Now, Harper is specifying that MPs should be permitted to follow their own conscience on “moral” issues and on those that affect their religious faith.

“We don’t want to reopen that particular issue,” Harper said of abortion. “This is my view, this is the view of our party.

“But the reality is in public life there are issues that engage peoples’ moral views, engage their faith, engage their most deeply held beliefs. And it’s our party’s view that on those issues you cannot impose views on people.”