Ethical Life Issues
John Gummer's stances on important Ethical Issues
Abortion
Life is a gift that is bestowed upon us. We have no right to take it away, once it is created. A woman's - and a man's - right to choose is part of this great gift but it has to be exercised before conception and not in retrospect. All of us have the greater duty to protect the most vulnerable.
Euthanasia
We should protect and preserve the lives of those who are the most vulnerable in our society, be they the unborn, the disabled, the terminally ill or the elderly. Euthanasia, like abortion, is fundamentally wrong. It is also overwhelmingly open to abuse. Euthanasia would further diminish the value of life and create a society where imperfection or relative weaknesses begins to cast doubt on a person's right to life.
Social Justice
It is central to a Conservative view of life that we should strive for fairness and justice. People are different, have different abilities, and different opportunities. Those differences must not mean that they are excluded from the necessities of life, the full value of society, or access to health care and education and the protection of the rule of law.
Of course the first demand must be people who live in our own country and then, beyond that, in the European Union but we are relatively rich nations who have the strength to lead the fight to ensure increasing justice in the world. That's why we should support the Trade Justice Movement, the Make Poverty History campaign, and the debt relief demands that Ken Clarke did so much to implement when he was Chancellor and which, to his credit, Gordon Brown has continued.
Terrorism
My wife and I were in the Grand Hotel in Brighton when the bomb went off which killed and maimed so many of our friends. We have therefore the most serious personal reasons to hate terrorism and to want to see terrorists arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned. That's part of the reason why I took a prominent part in the recent Terrorism Bill. The Government produced a hurried proposal with no atempt at consultation which was attacked by their own side as well as by legal authorities as being thoroughly bad legislation. I want to make sure that we are really tough about terrorism. That means getting good and stable laws - not bits and pieces cobbled together by a Home Secretary who has become an increasingly ridiculous figure. The Government could have got its legislation right at the beginning if it had given us more than the three hours it allotted to debate these important matters and promised, from the start, that we would have a new, measured and more effective Bill within a year. Now, after two days of argument between Lords and Commons, we have won what we wanted. I am only sorry that Mr Blair tried to play party politics with terrorism and human rights and that he falsely claimed, as he did on the Iraq war, that he was acting on the advice of the security services. Still, the democratic process has won a real victory and we shall get better and more effective legislation soon. (See speeches)
Asylum Seekers and Immigration
In a world where the share of resourses and wealth is manifestly unjust, there will always be pressures from the poor to migrate to the rich nations. Modern transport makes this easier and modern communications emphasise the disparity between rich and poor, encouraging people to seek a better life. We cannot, however, accept that our societies can allow themselves to be swamped by the sheer numbers that wish to move. We have to have a very strict policy that excludes the vast majority of economic migrants. That ought to be coupled with far more enlightened policies to enable them to improve the standard of living in their own country. The two must go together and at present we are failing to do either.
Of course , there must be a place for those who are genuinely fleeing persecution. We have always been that sort of country. Yet, most who come here are simply using the system and this undermines the good community relations that we have built up over the years. It makes the majority of people hear feel that they and their way of life is going to be overwhelmed. If we sent people back, who were then executed, there would be a real revulsion even amongst those who are toughest about immigration.
However, if we do not tighten up very substantially, the people of Britain will become increasingly unwilling to be tolerant and will see a threat in all newcomers. Either situation would be disastrous and it will take immediate and determined measures if Government is to regain the confidence of the People.