The PS wants the plenary Chamber to vote on Thursday on the new abortion law. That said chairman Paul Magnette Monday after the party office of the French-speaking socialists. “The right of women to decide for themselves about their bodies should not be the object of a horse trade,” said the PS chairman.
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The party reiterates that the debate had already started during the previous legislature, that twenty experts have been reviewed, that the competent committee has already voted twice and that the Council of State has already issued an opinion three times. According to Magnette, the last time such advice was asked was even a “dangerous precedent for the work of our institutions and democracy.”
The time has come for Magnette to make a political choice. “It is an essential step forward for women. We need to let MPs decide now. ” The PS therefore calls for a vote this week.
Later on Monday, Ecolo also launched a new call to vote. The French-speaking greens do not accept the fact that the text is the subject of ‘political haggling’, which they say amounts to ‘an instrumentalization of women’s rights’.
However, CD&V and N-VA have lifted the file into a government case. N-VA chairman De Wever even shifted up a gear last weekend and made it a breaking point for government formation. In it, coalition partners MR, Open VLD and CD&V are looking for a federal majority with N-VA, SP.A and CDH. But according to De Wever, that will become impossible when that new abortion law is passed.
However, both MR and Open VLD stated that they do not restrain the freedom they leave their MPs on ethical issues. Open VLD chairman Egbert Lachaert said on Monday morning that the MPs of the party are free to vote if no solution is found by Thursday. Such a solution is still being sought behind the scenes.
In the run-up to a possible vote, a number of stages still have to be completed. The bill is not yet on the plenary agenda. The Conference of Presidents must agree on Wednesday. If there is no consensus, the PS should table a motion on Wednesday requesting that the proposal be placed on the agenda. That motion must be adopted by a majority.
The opponents could request another referral to the Council of State, but a fourth referral would amount to the abuse of the institution. Another possibility: the vote of an amendment to the bill. In that case, the House’s Rules of Procedure provide that the final vote can only take place at the next session. For example, the file on the summer break could be lifted.
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