“Abortion in Criminal Law: Debate in the House of Representatives”

Most members of the House of Representatives currently do not feel the need to remove abortion from criminal law. That is the outcome of the debate about the citizens’ initiative of the Humanist Association and broadcaster BNNVARA. They believe that termination of pregnancy is normal care that does not belong in criminal law.

They collected more than 90,000 signatures for this point of view with the campaign ‘Abortion is not a crime’, more than enough to put the subject on the agenda of the House of Representatives. This led to a serious political discussion.

Member of Parliament Harry Bevers of government party VVD is in favor of free choice of abortion, but he does not want the law to be changed. “All interests are carefully weighed against each other in the current law. Access to abortion for women is not hindered.”

D66 is positive about the plan to remove abortion from the Penal Code. “It has been shown that it makes a decision more difficult for women. It creates a stigma,” said Member of Parliament Wieke Paulusma.

She also pointed to developments in countries such as Poland and the US, where the right to abortion has recently been curtailed by conservative politicians. “The world has changed, and unfortunately not always for the better”.

The initiators are also concerned about foreign countries. BNNVARA presenter Dzifa Kusenuh, who addressed the House, emphasized that this proves that acquired rights can be taken away. According to her, abortion should be legal, safe “and supported by the state”.

The fact that abortion is still a criminal offense contributes to the taboo that rests on it, according to Kusenuh. For example, women do not dare to say that they have had their pregnancies terminated and abortion doctors do not disclose what kind of work they do on birthdays, also for fear of being threatened.

According to the Humanist Association and BNNVARA, the removal from criminal law does not mean that everything is possible just like that. Doctors still have to comply with the Termination of Pregnancy Act. If they do not, they can be dealt with through medical disciplinary law and even criminal law.

These arguments did not convince the government parties CDA and ChristenUnie. Further relaxation of the abortion rules is a sensitive issue for those parties. The mandatory reflection period of five days for women has recently been scrapped. The abortion pill has also become available through the GP. That has already led to a lot of discussion.

Hilde Palland of the CDA emphasized that a carefully performed abortion is not punishable even now. She therefore disagrees with the initiators that abortion is now seen as a crime. The rights of the unborn child are also taken into account in the current regulations. That unborn life is “worthy of protection” for the CDA.

The ChristenUnie believes that article 296 should remain normal. “Less and less weight is being given to the unborn life, and I continue to regret that,” said party leader Mirjam Bikker. It is precisely in the Penal Code that the unborn fetus is protected, Bikker believes, even if it is not yet viable.

In any case, in addition to VVD, CDA and ChristenUnie, the PVV, the SGP and the Forum for Democracy have no need to delete the criminal law article.

Neither does the cabinet at the moment. Although Ministers Yesilgöz (Justice) and Kuipers (Public Health) said that there could certainly be reasons to remove termination of pregnancy from criminal law, this would have to be done carefully from a legal point of view.

GroenLinks MP Corinne Ellemeet is working on an initiative law in line with the citizens’ initiative. She feels supported by this and continues with her bill “in good spirits”. “As long as it is in the criminal law, that is a certain signal to society.”

The VVD says it will look at this with an open mind. And with that, the discussion, sparked by the citizens’ initiative, is not yet a foregone conclusion.