The new Conservative party vice-chair for women, Maria Caulfield MP, has told The Tablet she is taken aback by the angry furore her appointment provoked due to her position on abortion.
The charity LIFE described the attacks on her as vile and intemperate and a senior Scottish Bishop accused the BBC of displaying a “pro-abortion bias.”
Ms Caulfield, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary ProLife Group, revealed that none of the broadcasters that leapt on the criticisms of her appointment, including the BBC and Sky News, approached her for a response and that the level of attack showed free speech was frowned upon: “There is a politically correct way of responding to certain issues and if your view doesn’t fit in, you’re seen as a freak who shouldn’t be taken seriously.”
Ms Caulfield’s appointment caused a storm on Twitter by activists. The MP last year opposed a parliamentary attempt to remove criminal sanctions on abortion. Currently, by law, women in England and Wales have to prove to two medical professionals that carrying on with the pregnancy is detrimental to their health or wellbeing; opposition Labour MP, Diana Johnson, had sought to place regulation of abortion with professional bodies, as with other medical procedures.
LIFE accused the abortion provider BPAS of “leading the pack” after it described Ms Caulfield’s appointment as “incredibly disappointing” and accused her of supporting the “criminalisation” of women: “The fact that Ms Caulfield has been subjected to attacks and abuse in the media because she is prolife should be of concern to all. It has become habitual now for the abortion industry to rise up and shout down anyone who dares to speak up for the unborn, even if such persons also speak up for women.” Bishop John Keenan of Paisley accused the BBC of unbalanced coverage, “with the vast majority of their quotes coming from pro-abortionists” he said. ”In fact it is Maria Caulfield who represents the views of most UK women. Seventy-two percent of women want abortion to be governed by a legal framework….according to a recent poll.”
Ms Caulfield said she was overwhelmed by the private support she had received but noted that people were too scared to voice their views publicly: “Social media is a microphone and if you’re not ‘in with the crowd’ you risk being shouted down.”
(Pic: Maria Caulfield MP, who has been appointed as the Conservative Party's vice chair for women, speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, London. Credit: PA)
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