Britain: British prime minister Tony Blair has said abortion is a matter for individual conscience and should not become an election issue.
However Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor has again suggested it should, while stressing it is not the intention of the Roman Catholic Church to advise people to vote for the Conservatives or any other particular party.
The Cardinal moved to clarify the position of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales after also saying he was "not so sure" that Labour remained the party of the working class.
At the same time he said he would like to see the same political emphasis on religious and moral issues in Britain as exists in the United States. "It is wrong to say there is no connection between religion and politics," he told the BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.
Mr Blair was drawn into this pre-election controversy after Cardinal O'Connor had "commended" Conservative leader Michael Howard for indicating his support for reducing the legal time limit for abortions from the 24th week of pregnancy to the 20th.
Responding to Mr Howard's view that the current rules were "tantamount to abortion on demand" Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster and leader of the church in England and Wales, said: "Abortion, for Catholics, is a very key issue. We are totally opposed to it. The policy supported by Mr Howard is one that we would also commend, on the way to a full abandonment of abortion."
In an interview for Cosmopolitan Mr Howard said: "I believe abortion should be available to everyone, but the law should be changed. In the past I voted for a restriction to 22 weeks and I would be prepared to go down to 20."
Mr Blair and Liberal Democrats leader Charles Kennedy also gave their views.
Mr Kennedy said he had previously supported a 22-week limit but, following medical advances, "I don't know what I would do now." Mr Blair told the magazine: "However much I dislike the idea of abortion, you should not criminalise a woman who, in very difficult circumstances, makes that choice.
"Obviously there is a time beyond which you can't have an abortion, and we have no plans to change that although the debate will continue."
Mr Blair's official spokesman said yesterday: "The prime minister believes this is a matter for a free vote and conscience on both sides of the Commons. He believes it should be debated in a calm and rational non-partisan way.
"Therefore in his opinion it would be a pity if this did become a party political issue, or indeed a general election issue. The Catholic Church has a well-known position on this issue, and it was one of many issues the Cardinal mentioned and therefore should be seen in that context."
The Bishops' Conference has urged Catholics to question candidates on six key issues ahead of the election and to scrutinise their attitudes toward marriage and the right to life. Cardinal Murphy O'Connor said Mr Howard's proposals were inadequate but "a step in the right direction."
He said Catholics should consider also issues like "refugees and migrants and the whole matter of world poverty" on which subject he commended Mr Blair and the Chancellor, Gordon Brown.
"I would regret it very much if people thought I was commending to Catholics that they should vote for one party or another, because that was not the intention," he said.