Roman Catholic bishops have urged the electorate to think about the "common good" when voting at the next election. They urge voters to consider candidates' opinions on abortion, human cloning and embryo experimentation and asylum when they make up their minds.

The bishops warn of the "terrible cost to human lives" as a consequence of legalising abortion in 1967. "Most recently a moral chasm has been opened by parliament's decision to permit the creation and destruction of cloned human embryos," they said.