MP Cepcek Proposes Toughening Abortion Law; Sipos: He Didn't Tell Us

Bratislava, January 21 (TASR) – MP Martin Cepcek from the main governing party OLANO has again presented to Parliament a bill restricting access to abortion on demand, with OLANO caucus leader Michal Sipos telling TASR on Thursday that Cepcek’s move was made without consulting the party and the Coalition Council.

Cepcek came up with a similar legislative initiative last year, but it wasn’t accepted by Parliament for discussion, as a mandatory period of six months from a similar bill filed by the far-right LSNS hadn’t passed.

According to Cepcek’s bill, abortion should be allowed only when the pregnant woman’s health is in serious danger, if the foetus is seriously damaged, but isn’t more then 24-weeks-old, and if the pregnancy is the result of a crime, but only up to the twelfth week of pregnancy. In addition, a woman can undergo abortion only after receiving opinions from two obstetricians, and there should be a period of at least 96 hours between a written demand plus an instruction and the abortion itself. It should be forbidden for facilities in Slovakia to perform abortions on demand for foreign nationals, while the promotion of abortion should also be banned.

“We’ll ask him about his motives to present such a proposal just now,” said Sipos. He said that it would be premature to discuss calling on Cepcek to leave the OLANO caucus, however. For example, Cepcek recently refused to back the Government’s moves in Parliament aimed at extending the state of emergency due to covid.

According to the Coalition Agreement, abortion bills needn’t be approved by the Coalition Council, but they must be discussed by the body in advance.