Before arriving in Westminster to take his seat, Carr had made contact with Conservative MP Ken Hargreaves, who represented a neighbouring constituency and who was an organiser of the anti-abortion campaign in Parliament, to offer his help. In December 1991 he presented a petition from Roman Catholic churches in his constituency opposing the use of abortifacient drug RU486. He was called at Prime Minister's Questions on 4 February 1992, and asked about a constituent who was told to wait 14 months for a hip replacement but offered the chance to pay to have the operation done privately without delay.