RUTH Davidson has been accused of a “shocking” failure to confront the true impact of Tory welfare cuts after a report suggested they are driving more women to have abortions.

The Scottish Conservative leader was condemned after saying she would “not opine” on “individual decisions” being taken by women affected by cuts to their child tax credits.

She suggested people should check if they could get more benefits instead.

Ms Davidson was also attacked after suggesting the eight-page “rape clause” form was a mere formality for the women completing it.

She told STV: "All they have got to do is tick a box and put their name on it."

Nicola Sturgeon called Ms Davidson’s attitude “shocking” and Labour said it was “sickening”.

Campaigning in Edinburgh on the local elections, Ms Davidson was asked about a new report from the House of Commons Work and Pensions committee covering the UK Government’s decision to limit child tax credit and universal credit to two children per family since April 6.

The policy has given rise to the rape clause, an exemption which allows women to claim for a third or later child if they can show they were the result of a rape or coercive relationship.

The Committee report included evidence from charity Turn2us, which said pregnant women were now taking benefit entitlements into account when deciding whether to have an abortion.

It said: “Turn2us is concerned that this type of call will become more frequent as a result of the two-child limit that came into effect on April 6."

Asked her view of the policy and whether more abortions were a good thing, Ms Davidson said: “I think every family makes decisions for themselves and the idea that a politician can opine upon that, I'm not going to get drawn into that."

Pressed on her party’s policy, she said: “How can I comment on individuals' decisions that are made by people contemplating families? I'm not prepared to do that because people take decisions about their families for lots of different reasons and I will not opine on that.

"What was also explained by the charity in the report that they put out was a lot of people don't have the full information including the amount of money they can claim in tax credits.

“It's £428m last year across Scotland that people were entitled to but did not claim."

Asked if she had any qualms about the change to tax credits, Ms Davidson stated: "I have said on record that I support the limit of tax credits to the first two children, I think that in the most exceptional of cases it is right that there are exemptions to this policy and I'll repeat that today."

Campaigning in Leith with the SNP candidates who will fight the five Westminster seats in the capital, Ms Sturgeon was asked about Ms Davidson’s refusal to condemn the policy.

She said: “I think that’s shocking. The story about some people perhaps opting for abortion because of the benefit cap is one that would appal every right-thinking person.

“When you’re faced with these kind of issues, you have to decide what side you’re on.

“If Ruth Davidson would rather defend benefit cuts than stand up for women, as we saw her do in the debate in parliament on the rape clause last week, I think that says everything we need to know about the role that Tory MPs from Scotland would play [at Westminster].

“They wouldn’t be there to stand up for Scotland. They’d be there to back a Tory government regardless of what that Tory government was doing.”

Reacting to Ms Davidson’s comments on STV, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale added: “It is absolutely sickening to watch Ruth Davidson defend the rape clause. To say this is a box ticking exercise is to trivialise the most horrifying of experiences a person can go through.

“Ruth Davidson is trying to pretend to Scots that she's a different type of Tory - but this is the Nasty Party at its most vile. If Ruth Davidson is really as important to the Tory party as she is trying to claim, then this policy won't make the Tory manifesto.”

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie said his party’s “unique” position on the UK and the EU was giving it momentum for the local elections..

“We're growing in support and we're going to gain more seats, because people want a local champion for their community, not a cheerleader for independence,” he said in Leven.

The SNP also named two new candidates for marginal seats: Toni Giugliano in previously SNP Edinburgh West and Mairi McAllan in Tory Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale.