Jacob Rees-Mogg accused of spreading ‘harmful clinical falsehoods’ about morning-after pills

Commons leader urged to correct the record

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg (House of Commons/PA) (PA Wire)

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been accused of spreading a "harmful clinical falsehood" about morning-after pills during a parliamentary debate.

The Tory Commons leader was urged to correct the record after he likened the emergency contraceptives to an abortion on Thursday.

He had been asked to make parliamentary time for a discussion about "proper funding and accessibility for women's contraception and health services".

But in response to the question from Labour's Diana Johnson Mr Rees-Mogg replied: "The right honourable lady cannot expect me to speak in favour of abortifacients."

Mr Mogg said in 2017 that he was "completely opposed" to abortion including in cases of rape or incest.

After the debate Dame Diana raised a point of order with the Speaker, stating: "The World Health Organisation say that emergency contraception pills prevent pregnancy by prevention or delaying of ovulation and they do no induce an abortion.

"Emergency contraception cannot interrupt an established pregnancy or harm a developing embryo.

"How can I ensure that the Leader of the House corrects the record, as what he said I think is a harmful clinical falsehood and I am sure does not represent the Government's policy?"

In response, deputy speaker Dame Eleanor Laing said: "It is open to her to simply ask the minister to correct the record.

"It does appear to me that if there is a factual inaccuracy in the matter to which she has just referred, it is rather an important matter and one in which I would judge that anything that is said in this chamber ought to be 100 per cent correct, because it is not a matter on which we should allow people who will be affected by it to be misled, and that the facts ought to be straight."

The morning after pill is considered to be a contraceptive medicine because it prevents conception, rather than a method of aborting a pregnancy.

Superdrug's Online Doctor website defines the difference as follows: "The morning-after pill is emergency contraception that stops the egg inside your body from being fertilised. When taken correctly, the morning-after pill prevents a pregnancy from taking place. An abortion is a termination of an egg that's already been fertilised."