Danko Supports Pro-life March, Pellegrini Okay with Current Legislation

Danko Supports Pro-life March, Pellegrini Okay with Current Legislation

Sastin-Straze, September 15 (TASR) – One of the themes resonating at the National Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in Sastin-Straze (Trnava region) held between Friday (September 13) and Monday (September 16) was the issue of abortions and an upcoming pro-life march.

Parliamentary Chair Andrej Danko voiced his support for the march, scheduled for Sunday (September 22). “I try to strike a proper balance between the secular and ecclesiastic, including regarding difficult issues, such as abortions and the like. Ours is an era in which we’re becoming heartless. There was a march against more stringent abortion rules on Saturday (September 14) that came out against the march that I’ll be attending next week. I respect every opinion, but the right march is the one for family and life,” stated Danko.

Danko intends to discuss abortions with other politicians in Parliament. “These are issues that polarise the nation and call for an extensive expert and public debate. Partly thanks to modern birth control, however, the situation has taken a turn for the better, particularly among the young. Hence, it’s raising awareness, upbringing, accepting modern science and Christian demands that lead to a compromise. I’ll try to discuss this some more, but as a parliamentary election is around the corner, we must seek themes that unite us rather than divide,” he said.

According to Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, however, abortions are sufficiently addressed by existing legislation. “What’s more, we record a decline in the number of abortions with each passing year. The relevant law has been amended in a stricter way a number of times, and I don’t think that this is some fundamental issue for Slovakia that should resonate in our society. I don’t begrudge anyone their rights, but I don’t think that Slovakia finds itself in a difficult enough situation in this sphere calling for the organisation of one march or the other,” he said.

Pellegrini finds Slovak laws on abortion satisfactory, as the choice is left to mothers. “At the moment there’s no need to deal with this because nothing dramatic is taking place in Slovakia on this front. Completely needless tension is being stirred up in society … And in reply to the question of whether it should be politicians making decisions about women’s bodies, I say that politicians should have the least say in this,” added Pellegrini.