The UK Government’s “rape clause” proposals

During DWP Questions today I challenged Iain Duncan Smith to scrap his ill-thought out plans to force women who have a third child as a consequence of being raped to prove this to a Government official in order to receive tax credit payments.

Asking women who have been raped to relive such a traumatic experience and – worse still – justify their child’s birth is appalling and has got to be the lowest this Government has stooped yet.

I’ve met with a number of women’s welfare organisations and rape crisis groups who are rightly calling for the Government to bin these ill thought out plans. SNP action has already led to u-turns on tax credit policy and I’ll be campaigning hard to make sure this policy is the next to be put through the Downing Street shredder.

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