March 29. 2024. 12:27

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Abortion now on the table of Finnish government talks


The Christian Democrats are pushing for the right of healthcare workers to refuse to carry out abortions amid the now five-week-long government talks, Hufvudstadsbladet reported on Thursday.

The Christian Democrats, currently in government talks with the National Coalition Party, the Finns Party and the Swedish People’s Party, would like to see the right to be included in the programme, reported HBL.

The Christian Democrats refused to deny or confirm the news.

But Päivi Räsänen, the party’s former chair, has long advocated for the issue.

The right to refuse abortions by medical staff “should be included in labour legislation. It is a fundamental right, and it is about freedom of religion, which the law must protect”, said Räsänen, as reported in the Hufvudstadsbladet article published on Thursday.

The topic may create yet another obstacle, just as there appears to be some sort of common ground on climate and migration. Political analysts have described the government formation talks as the most secretive in living memory.

Giving healthcare workers the right to refuse to carry out an abortion is particularly difficult for the liberal Swedish People’s Party, also in government talks.

“If we start restricting it and make it a matter of conscience, I’m afraid that we’re moving towards restricting the right to abortion, like in Poland and some states in the US,” the Chair of the party’s youth organisation Julia Ståhle told HBL.

(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)

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