News

An elected official wants to draw a line under abortion in the Penal Code

The Vaudois ecologist Léonore Porchet believes that this is above all a health issue. A committee of opponents is already brandishing the threat of a referendum.

Swiss Sexual Health (SSCH) organized a demonstration Thursday, at the beginning of the afternoon, on the Federal Square in Bern. The objective was to mark the 20th anniversary of the vote on the delay regime for abortions (decriminalization up to 12 weeks, with exceptions), accepted at 72.2%. The idea was also to make a new political proposal. The president of the SSCH, also a national councillor, Léonore Porchet (Les Verts/VD), tabled a parliamentary initiative for “the removal of abortion from the Penal Code”.

“We call on Switzerland to consider abortion above all as a health issue. In a modern society, it no longer has a place in the Penal Code, ”explains the elected official in a press release. According to the SSCH, despite the 2002 vote, “barriers and discrimination remain, whether at the financial level, or at the level of access to services and to sufficient and clear information (…) Moreover, the interruption of pregnancy remains part of the Penal Code, despite its status as a medical service that is part of the basic catalog of health insurance. As a result, his stigma and moral condemnation endures.”

Babies “crushed, torn” according to opponents

The  Save Viable Babies initiative committee reacted to the SSCH proposal on Thursday. He believes in a press release that wanting to remove abortion from the Penal Code, “is to ignore the human dignity of unborn children”. Opponents say that if this repeal were accepted, it “would be immediately followed by a referendum, and it would even be possible to launch a heartbeat initiative according to the Texas model”.

The committee writes that, if the voluntary termination of pregnancy were to disappear from the Penal Code, babies “could then, for any reason, be pierced, aspirated, crushed, quartered, cut into pieces or put to death by any other way, until the moment of their birth in the 40th week”.

Recent Posts

How John Wick Directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch Kept Action Movies Alive Without Superheroes

The John Wick series has established itself as one of the few major action series today that… Read More

2 weeks ago

Shadow and Bone Season 2: Explaining the Dramatic Final

After binge-watching Shadow and Bone season 2, many viewers have been left with a million… Read More

2 weeks ago

If Thor Was Real: Ways The World Would Be Different

The thought of Thor coming down from the heavens and saving us from catastrophes is… Read More

2 weeks ago

Chad Stahelski and David Leitch Kept Action Movies Alive Without the Superheroes

The action movie industry has been dominated by superhero franchises such as Marvel and DC… Read More

2 weeks ago

Heather Jones: From Cult To Netflix

You might be disappointed when you watch Tiller Russell's latest documentary series, Waco: American Apocalypse,… Read More

2 weeks ago

The Pope’s Exorcist : Movie Review

The Pope’s Exorcist is a horror movie released in 2023 that’s based on the life… Read More

2 weeks ago