Speaking in response to the developments, Carla Lockhart said:

“Last week was a dark week for our nation. We have witnessed two significant and sorrowful blows to the value of human life with legislation now passed that permits abortion up to birth for any reason without legal consequence, and the progression of the Assisted Dying Bill, which passed without the safeguards that were promised when it was introduced.

It is utterly devastating, not just for those of us who champion the sanctity of life, but for the most vulnerable members of our society, the sick, the elderly, the unborn. These are the very people we should be protecting.

At a time when our NHS is under immense pressure, with long waiting lists and a workforce stretched to its limits, Parliament has now added two life-ending measures to the burden. Instead of focusing on care, treatment and support, we have seen a shift toward convenience over compassion.

I want to be absolutely clear: there is no circumstance in which I would support either of these Bills. The proponents of the Assisted Dying Bill have already backtracked on key safeguards, and we are left with legislation that puts vulnerable people at risk.

And on abortion it is horrendous that an unborn child can now be terminated up to the moment of birth, for any reason. In the UK today, animals have more legal protection than an unborn baby. That is a damning indictment of the direction we are headed.

We now face the chilling reality of a state-funded assisted suicide service, the state facilitating death rather than defending life. This is not progress. This is a tragedy.

Last week will be remembered not for compassion, but for its absence. It is a week I will grieve, and one that should trouble the conscience of our nation. However, it makes me more determined to help those around me choose life and to continue to highlight the need for life affirming laws to be returned to our Nation.”