Boris vs Hunt - The Abortion Aspect

No major Boris story today it seems. Just criticism for declining to take part in a Sky News debate. Like one of those days when you open a calendar window just to find a crappy picture of a shepherd or something.

The thing that has been most apparent to me over the last day or so is the abortion issue. Jeremy Hunt believes that the limit on abortion should be reduced to twelve weeks. Something I'm in sympathy with. This is apparently more a personal than a political issue for him though. Whereas Boris Johnson is said to have actually paid a mistress to have an abortion.

So judging on this issue Hunt seems to be the more responsible of the two. I think this is colouring quite a few peoples opinion.

I'm still very much hoping Boris wins, but it's weird when an issue like this crops up.

As an aside, on the topic of abortion I'm surprised that more people don't make a distinction between abortion for medical reasons and abortion for social reasons. We tend to just have this blanket debate about how many weeks the limit should be. Personally, were I in charge, I'd ban abortion for social reasons more or less altogether, but be very tolerant of abortion for medical reasons.

If a child is going to be born severely handicapped or the mother's life is at risk then that's a real moral conundrum. In which case abortion may be the lesser evil. I really hope I'm never in such a position to have to make such a judgement, and would never want to judge in my ignorance someone in that position.

Abortion for social reasons is quite different though, be it for personal or for wider reasons such as population control. In fact, I remember sitting on a bus about ten years ago and overhearing two college age girls sat on the seat in front of me. One, about seventeen or eighteen, was casually telling the other she was pregnant and that she was considering having an abortion. The reason she gave was that her family had booked a holiday in Turkey and if she had the baby she wouldn't be able to go. I could feel my views shifting to right with each second as I listened.

Anyway, I'll continue the Boris calendar. In spite of the lack of hit piece today.

22nd June: Wine-sofa.
23rd June: "Far-right" Bannon links
24th June: (refusing to take part in Sky News debate - fair game)
25th June: ???
.....