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Conservative Party leadership candidate, Jeremy Hunt MP, supports reduction in abortion time limit

Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership candidate, Jeremy Hunt MP, has said that he supports the reduction of the time limit for having an abortion from 24 to 12 weeks.

In an interview with Sky News’ Sophie Ridge on Sunday 9th June, the Foreign Secretary said: “These are matters of conscience, yes, my view hasn’t changed on that.”

He stressed that he “respect[s] the fact other people have very different views and that’s why these matters are matters for free votes in the House of Commons.”

When asked if he could guarantee that the time limit for abortion will stay where it is, he answered,

“What I can guarantee is this will be a matter for the House of Commons, not a matter for government policy.

The prime minister will have his view just like every one of the 650 MPs and these will be decided as a matter of conscience.

“But it won’t be a government policy to change the law in that respect.”

On previous abortion related votes, MPs have been allowed a free vote. This means that they are not put under pressure by party leaders to vote a certain way. If Mr Hunt were to become Prime Minister, he said:

“It won’t be government policy to have a vote. If backbenchers choose to have a vote, it would be a free vote and everyone will vote with their conscience.”

The abortion law in Britain, which allows abortion up until the 24th week of pregnancy and up to birth if the child is disabled, is out of line with the majority of EU countries which have a time limit for most abortions of 12-weeks or lower.

In addition to wanting to reduce the abortion time limit to 12-weeks, Jeremy Hunt has previously voted in favour of introducing an explicit ban on sex-selective abortion into the law in England and Wales.

Right To Life’s Clare McCarthy said:

“Polling shows there is strong support from women for reducing the time limit for abortion. Seven out of ten women support reducing the abortion time limit to twenty weeks or below, from the current twenty-four-week time limit.

Only 1% of the UK public would support the goal of UK abortion campaigners to introduce abortion up-to-birth.

A twelve-week time limit would bring the UK in line with the majority of EU countries that have a time limit for most abortions of 12 weeks or lower.”

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Only hours left of the appeal to help fight the five major battles we will face in 2026.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the support from people like you, in 2025, we have grown to 250,000 supporters, reached over 100 million views online, helped bring the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill within just 12 votes of defeat and fought major proposals to introduce abortion up to birth.

However, the challenges we face are far from over.

FIVE MAJOR BATTLES

In 2026, we will be facing five major battles:

  1. Assisted suicide at Westminster – the Leadbeater Bill
    With this session of the UK Parliament at Westminster expected to continue well into 2026, there are many more months of this battle to fight. There is growing momentum in the House of Lords against the dangerous Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill, but well-funded groups such as Dignity in Dying have poured millions into lobbying, and we must sustain the pressure so this Bill never becomes law.
  2. Assisted suicide in Scotland – the McArthur Bill
    We are expecting to face the final Stage 3 vote on the Scottish McArthur assisted suicide Bill early in the new year. If just seven MSPs switch from voting for to against the Bill, it will be defeated. This is a battle that can be won, but the assisted suicide lobby is working intensely to stop that from happening.
  3. Assisted suicide in Wales – the Senedd vote
    In January, we are expecting the Welsh Senedd to vote on whether they will allow the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill to be rolled out in Wales. Dignity in Dying and their allies are already putting a big focus on winning this vote. This is going to be another decisive and major battle.
  4. Abortion up to birth at Westminster
    We are going to face major battles over the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendment as it moves through the House of Lords. Baroness Monckton has tabled an amendment to overturn this change, and other Peers have proposed changes that would protect more babies from having their lives ended in late-term home abortions.
  5. Abortion up to birth in Scotland
    In Scotland, moves are underway to attempt to introduce an even more extreme abortion law there. An “expert group” undertaking a review of abortion law in Scotland has recommended that the Scottish Government scrap the current 24-week time limit – and abortion be available on social grounds right up to birth. It is expected that the Scottish Government will bring forward final proposals as a Government Bill next year.

If these major threats from our opposition are successful, it would be a disaster. Thousands of lives would be lost.

WE CAN ONLY DEFEAT THESE FIVE MAJOR THREATS WITH YOUR HELP

Work fighting both the abortion and assisted suicide lobbies in 2025 has substantially drained our limited resources.

To cover this gap and ensure we effectively fight these battles in the year ahead, our goal is to raise at least £198,750 by midnight this Sunday, 7 December 2025.

With a number of these battles due to begin within weeks, we need funds in place now so we can move immediately.

£198,750 is the minimum we need; anything extra lets us do even more.

If you are able, please give as generously as you can today. Every donation, large or small, will make a real difference. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 you donate at no extra cost to you.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these five major threats?

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to help fight the five major battles we will face in 2026.

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to help fight the five major battles we will face in 2026.