An SNP MP who voted in favour of allowing Northern Ireland to maintain its strong pro-life protections now fears she will be deselected by her party.
Dr Lisa Cameron, the MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahgow since 2015, has been targeted by “bullies” within the party who want to see her unable to contest her seat at the next election.
Party activists have called for the mother-of-two to be sacked on the Campaign SNP Facebook group.
Vitriol
Dr Cameron said: “It was a free vote, a conscience vote. I didn’t rebel or vote against the party whip. And yet now it’s virtually certain that abusive party activists will make sure I’m deselected and lose the job I love.”
She revealed she has also been subjected to online threats and abuse since the vote.
“The attacks on me have been nothing less than vitriolic. One individual threatened to come over and ‘abort me’.”
Dr Cameron said she had informed party leader Nicola Sturgeon about the threats but had received no response, saying: “I’m getting all this abuse but no one in the party will call out the abusers.”
‘Routine tactic’
Former SNP convener Bill Mills was among those criticising Dr Cameron’s decision.
He said he was “utterly disgusted” by her vote, and accused her of trying to force her own beliefs on others.
John Deighan, Chief Executive of pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said vilification “is now routinely used as a tactic by pro-abortion advocates to crush debate and invite hateful attacks on those with a differing opinion”.
Respectful disagreement
An SNP spokesperson said where party members disagree, they should do so “respectfully”.
They added: “As has been long-standing practice in the SNP, votes on this issue are conscience votes for elected members, meaning it is entirely up to the individual member how they vote.
“No one is failed at assessment because of their religious views.”
