.. to be appalled by this news about Jacob Rees-Mogg on GMB today

Really Nemoiudex? In my opinion your example of what seems to you low class names is so insulting

I don't think the people of Britain realise what a dangerous situation this country is on. Apparently more than half the country has no belief in God. I presume many never even pick up a Bible to look to see what is in it. There is such wisdom there. CS Lewis was a sworn atheist until he picked up that holy book. If we do believe in God's Word we cannot just go with the attitude & views of those who don't. If I did that I would have had my body covered in tattoos by now. We are, I believe, on a very slippery slope to dictatorship. I have watched with horror this country changing so radically in so many ways. Do humans who say that abortion is ok also say that they themselves would have been happy to be aborted?!

By the same token, those who don't believe in God shouldn't have to go by the beliefs of those who do, surely?

Yes J R-M is entitled to his opinions but they should be kept private. It is not appropriate for him to use his regrettably high profile to publicise them.

Tattoos??

He is entitled to his opinion.

I don't think anyone has said he isn't vbennettuk. We all are. However, he represents his constituency in the place where are law is made. He is also being suggested as leader of the Tory Party.

The leader of a party in power has power over how the law is made. The greater their majority the more their power.

The mans a total kn.b !

If he has this view of the sanctity of (all) life, presumably he will oppose all forms of assisted dying?

Not only that but, as such a good Catholic, he should/will be against all forms of contraception too. Which, again, is fine as long as his opinion only affect himself. The very fact that he was asked the question about abortion shows that there is some concern about the influence his views may have.

I was so intrigued by the linking of tattoos and the Bible I just had to Google it! Like most things you can quote for and against. I don't know how to post a link but amazing how people can make links in the most obscure things?

Veda - you frighten me, presumably just as my none belief in your belief frightens you.

We have a variety of cults in this country and no one is stopped from joining which ever they choose. Equally, because we are a democratic not a theocratic country no one is forced to either, thankfully.

Mr Rees-Mogg is probably the most honourable and honest politician you will find and I hope this country is lucky enough to have him as Prime Minister one day. He has said he will always support the majority democratic vote and, at the moment, that is that abortion is legal up to a certain number of weeks. However, if given a free vote in parliament as was in the case of gay marriage, he will vote according to his conscience.

The reason he was asked this question was probably because the left, liberal media is terrified of him being in a leadership position because they don't like politicians who are that honest and principled and he is also a leading Brexiteer so they are trying to get in early and ruin his chances of being the Tory leader after Mrs May. This is how a certain sector of the media works. I wonder if they will interview all the Muslim, Jewish or Hindu Members of Parliament and ask them the same question.

Personally, I have never understood why - if a baby is killed 4 months after it's born it's called murder but if a fetus is terminated 4 months before birth it is called legalised abortion. The end result is the same, the end of a life. Perhaps the fetus should be asked if it's pro choice before it's discarded because it happens to be inconvenient for whatever reason. .

I was shocked by his statement especially saying a women who was raped. Only saw the headline and didn't read the article.

But on reflection if you believe in the "right to life" and the embryo is a human being from the moment of conception, however that was and the embryo is not responsible for how it was conceived, you would believe it has a right to life.

I haven't read all the previous posts so I hope I'm not repeating what has already been said.

I am pleased that JR-M has come out with his views now as it makes it less likely that he will ever be accepted as leader of the Tory party.

I don't know how any woman in his constituency, knowing his views on abortion, could vote for him, and I can't understand how practicing Catholic women accept having to continue with pregnancies forced on them through rape and incest.

IMHO, this is not the mark of a civilised society.

My understanding is that those are personal beliefs but he will neither judge nor impose

Them on other people

Atheists should not be expected to follow the beliefs of christians but respect from both is to be expected surely

I think calling the queen who is a devout Christian a cult leader is a gross insult and uncalled for , one assumes this was from a republican

Veda I think most of the dictators there have been have had a strong belief in God- Hitler, Mussolini, Franco. Its the religious fanatics we have to fear not the unbelievers.
If my mother had not been in a situation where she could give birth to me and raise me in a safe and loving environment I hope she would have had the courage and strength to have an abortion. Indeed I have no proof that she never had an abortion, in her day it was illegal and if she had had one she wouldn't have talked about it. Women always have had abortions and always will, they are entitled to be safe when they do so.

Apologies for slight change of subject but did anyone hear the conversation between the 2 ladies or radio 4 on Sunday afternoon? I think it was the listening project or similar? One lady had a severely disabled ( mentally and physically ) daughter ( now an adult) and admitted that whilst she loved her with all her heart, had she have known what lay ahead ( effectively felt like it ruined her whole life and her marriage etc) she would have had her child aborted without question . A very brave admission I felt.

Religion is divisive in many ways. He was asked and he did not fudge the issue. His personal belief is not going to change the law even if he were to become PM. He seems to be one of a very small number of MPs who answer the questions posed to them instead of waffling.

I agree CardiffJaguar, he is getting this flack because he is a Christian and gave an honest reply to a question. Two major crimes for some here

Are his Christian beliefs quite irrelevant to his political policies? Does the same go for Tim Farron who eventually resigned because his views on homosexuality proved unpalatable to his party members? I think it would involve remarkable hypocrisy to say that you are firmly against all abortion as a matter of heartfelt principle yet you are willing to abide by the democratic wishes of the majority. That's the attitude of a politician who actually has no worthwhile principles at all.

It certaintly is hypocrisy to claim to be a pacifist and support the IRA

Synomous have you heard of REFLECT? Reflect is an organisation started in the Christian church which is about crisis pregnancy. This is the link: reflectsupport.co.uk

It gives women men and has couples the options to explore crisis pregnancy before during and after the event which also includes issues around abortion. It is done in any advisory non judgemental role and does NOT seek to make a judgement on what the person should do. We help them reach there own decisions on what they want to do.

I am a Christian (very unconventional one in an unconventional church fellowship which is essentially independent) and trained with REFLECT though I don't do voluntary for them now.

Though I have my own beliefs on pregnancy, they are not the extreme of RM, they are my own beliefs. I do not have a right to impose on others. Not all Christians are the same and not all are literalist.

I answer to God I understand in a personal relationship. I don't answer to dogma and rules of man

This man is a Christian by name only. Many will come using Christ's name but they are not of him

That doesn't mean the God I understand isn't sadenned by abortion. However God is not this judgemental being people like RM make him out to be

To be clear: if he really does believe that abortion is sinful and if he does have genuine principles, he will undoubtedly make it his aim to reverse our liberal abortion laws and to make them far more restrictive than they are at present. And that makes him wholly unpalatable to the electorate, and rightly so.

His personal belief is not going to change the law even if he were to become PM.

That is simply not true. If the parliament comprised enough who would support him and, as PM, this was his will, he would be able to change the law. Heaven help us if people vote believing as you believe. There was no great cry for Grammar Schools but, had May got the great majority she expected we would have had them because that is what she wanted.