Sadiq Khan: I support a woman’s right to have an abortion

Liz Bates

Sadiq Khan has said he backs the right of women to have an abortion, a day after Jacob Rees-Mogg sparked anger by saying he opposed it in all circumstances, including rape and incest.



Speaking on LBC, the Labour Mayor of London called for men to stop “lecturing women” on what they do with their bodies and said the consequences of banning abortion would be “very dangerous”.

Mr Khan, who is a practising Muslim, said: “I support the right of women to have an abortion. Jacob Rees-Mogg is entitled to his views and I think my voting record and what I have done throughout my adult life demonstrates my commitment to the rights of women to choose to have an abortion.

“Watch the consequences of outlawing the rights of women to have an abortion. It’s one of the most difficult decisions a woman will make and it is not taken lightly. And I’m not sure that we are going to go back to a situation where there are backstreet, very, very dangerous abortions. But also the idea that us men are lecturing women on what they can and can’t do with their body – that’s not something I subscribe to.”

Mr Rees-Mogg, who has recently been tipped as a potential Tory leadership candidate, told Good Morning Britain yesterday: “I am completely opposed to abortion, life begins at the point of conception.

“With same-sex marriage, that is something that people are doing for themselves. With abortion, that is what people are doing to the unborn child."

Asked if his view applied in all circumstances including rape, the MP said he was “afraid so,” but added that he didn't think the law should change.

The remarks were met with immediate condemnation, with Labour MP Jess Phillips saying the choices women make over their own bodies “should have nothing to do with the religious views of our politicians,” while her colleague, Illford South MP Mike Gapes, said: "the nasty party is back with a vengeance".

But Mr Rees-Mogg received the backing of former Tory MP Anne Widdecombe, who told Radio 5Live: "I think there might be an immediate effect, but I don't think there will be a long-term effect.

"The views he's expressed are those of mainstream Catholicism, mainstream Christianity, a lot of Judaism, so what he's expressing is not a very odd, uniquely-held view.

"Can a politician say what he thinks? Or are we simply going to end up in a situation where every time you say what you think, you end up with an adverse effect, so in the end you simply dodge it?"