Slovakia’s parliament on 11 November 2021 again narrowly rejected proposed legislation that would have restricted access to abortion in the country just to be punitive.
The bill was tabled by conservative lawmakers in the senior party in the coalition government. It fell by one vote, as 67 of the 134 lawmakers present in the 150-seat house voted in favour of it. A similar proposal to restrict abortion was also rejected a year ago, also by one vote.
The bill would have increased the mandatory waiting period before women could have an abortion at their request from 48 to 96 hours. At the same time, women would have had to give their reasons for having abortion; currently it is on request up to 12 weeks. It would also have banned what it called advertising abortion and services linked to abortion, which would have restricted access to information women can currently get publicly about where to find an abortion, from medical experts, clinics and hospitals.
SOURCE: The Standard, + PHOTO, by Associated Press, 11 November 2021.