Tory MP says women do not have ‘absolute right to bodily autonomy’ in abortion debate

Danny Kruger also says British politicians should not ‘lecture’ US over landmark decision to overturn Roe v Wade abortion ruling

A Conservative MP has said he does not agree women have an “absolute right to bodily autonomy” during a debate about the American abortion ban.

Danny Kruger also suggesed British politicians should not “lecture” the US over the landmark ruling, which has led to mass protests.

Mr Kruger is the son of Bake Off judge Prue Leith, who has previously spoken of how she had a backstreet abortion at the age of 15.

The MP for Devizes told the House of Commons he would “probably disagree” with other MPs about the US Supreme Court decision.

He said: “They think that women have an absolute right to bodily autonomy in this matter, whereas I think in the case of abortion that right is qualified by the fact that another body is involved.”

As other MPs tried to challenge him, Mr Kruger added: “I would offer to members who are trying to talk me down that this is a proper topic for political debate and my point to the frontbench is I don’t understand why we are lecturing the United States on a judgment to return the power of decision over this political question to the states, to democratic decision-makers, rather than leaving it in the hands of the courts.”

The US Supreme Court last week ended constitutional protections for abortion that have been in place for nearly 50 years by deciding to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling.

The ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of US states.

Conservative MP Danny Kruger has said he does not agree women have an absolute right to bodily autonomy in a debate about the US abortion ban (Parliament TV)

Mr Kruger was among 61 Conservative MPs who last week voted against an amendment which will allow the government to extend abortion access in Northern Ireland by directly commissioning services.

Labour MP Jess Phillips said: “I suggest that he is forced to carry around with him a baby without putting it down for the next 40 weeks.

“It would be considered totalitarian torture.”

Mr Kruger is the son of Bake Off judge Prue Leith, who has previously spoken of how she had a backstreet abortion at the age of 1 (Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions/PA)

Stella Creasy, another Labour MP, told Mr Kruger abortion was "fundamentally for many of us a human rights issue", adding: "Currently in the UK, only women in Northern Ireland have their constitutional right to an abortion protected as a human right, but we can change that and that is what this place and this urgent question can do today.”

Labour ex-minister Dame Diana Johnson pressed for the UK government to introduce buffer zones near abortion clinics and offer assurances on their commitment to protecting the rights of women to “bodily autonomy”.

She asked Foreign Office minister Amanda Milling: “Can the minister confirm that the government will continue to support and fund reproductive healthcare programmes, including access to terminations around the world, in light of this decision?

The US Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that have been in place for nearly 50 years by deciding to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“With far-right American groups already organising on rolling back the 1967 Abortion Act in this country, this decision will give them renewed impetus for their work.

“So will the Government look again at protecting women attending abortion clinics through the introduction of buffer zones, as proposed by (Rupa Huq, Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton)?”

Ms Milling said she shared the prime minister’s view that the Supreme Court decsion “is a big step backwards”.

She added that buffer zones are a “matter for the Home Office and is something that they keep under review”.