Sweden’s ‘Conservative’ Govt to Make Abortion a Constitutional Right

Asian pregnant woman holding ultrasound 4d scan image, Expectation of a child and Maternit
Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

Sweden’s allegedly “conservative” centre-right coalition government, led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, has expressed a desire to change the country’s constitution to enshrine the right to abort babies.

Prime Minister Kristersson, along with Minister of Health Acko Ankarberg Johansson, Minister for Gender Equality Paulina Brandberg, and populist Social Democrat (SD) social policy spokeswoman Linda Lindberg have co-authored an opinion article outlining their support for making abortion a constitutional right.

The opinion article, which was published by the newspaper Expressen, sees the PM and ministers lament the overturning of Roe V Wade in the United States last year and new restrictions placed on abortion in the USA and in some parts of Europe.

“Establishing something in the Constitution – the foundation of our entire legal system – has several functions. It shows the values that characterize our society and it sets up robust protective walls around rights,” they said.

According to senior Swedish government officials a “strong constitution that protects the rights and freedoms of the individual has always been an important issue for parties that in various ways belong to the liberal and conservative traditions of ideas in politics” — with no mention made of rights for the unborn.

“In the almost 50 years since the Swedish abortion law was passed, the woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy has become a defining part of our society’s values of gender equality, and of men’s and women’s equal rights. The state must guarantee all women effective, safe and equal access to the right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy,” they said.

 

The move comes as fellow European Union member-state France has also vowed to make abortion a constitutional right, with French president Emmanuel Macron stating this week that his government would be putting forward a draft law to enshrine abortion in the constitution in the coming months.

“This will enshrine the freedom of women to choose abortion, and be a solemn guarantee that nothing can ever limit or abolish this right because it will have become irreversible,” President Macron said.

However, some national conservative-led countries in Central Europe, such as Poland and Hungary, have moved in the opposite direction, enacting more pro-life policies.

While Poland has largely outlawed abortion, except in rare cases like rape or incest, the Hungarians have so far taken a more modest approach to strengthening the rights of the unborn, putting in place a policy that requires mothers to listen to the heartbeats of their children before confirming they wish to proceed with a termination.

 

 

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

 

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.