Abbott excites anti-abortion group

An anti-abortion group says it is excited about Tony Abbott leading the federal opposition.

Mr Abbott, a conservative Catholic, has said on the record he believes abortion is a stain on Australia's national character and should be reduced.

Right to Life Australia president Veronica Andrews said she hoped Mr Abbott would use his position to speak out against abortion and voluntary euthanasia in parliament.

"He hasn't promised us anything for sure but we're excited by the idea of Abbott," Ms Andrews told AAP on Tuesday.

"I don't think he'll have the time to devote to our issue."

Having an anti-abortion advocate such as Mr Abbott leading the Liberal Party was "quite rare", she said.

"We'd like to think we'd get one all the time from now on but I don't think it's likely."

Ms Andrews said former prime minister John Howard was not receptive to her group's concerns about allowing the morning-after drug RU486 into Australia, adding that former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull did not share its anxieties.

In October 2006, as health minister, Mr Abbott refused to allow the abortion drug to be made available in Australia.

This led to a conscience vote in the Parliament that deprived the health minister of regulatory control of the drug.