Parliamentary debate on abortion adjourned

Zagreb - A parliamentary debate on the SDP-sponsored bill on medical termination of pregnancy was adjourned on Wednesday evening because the Government had not declared its stance and its representative did not show up in the Parliament chamber.

Chairman Željko Reiner took the decision after MPs of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) insisted that the debate be adjourned and the matter discussed once the prerequisites for it had been met.

Explaining the bill, Arsen Bauk said that its purpose was to make abortion legal, accessible and free of charge. Citing a Constitutional Court ruling of 2017, he said that the government should have drawn up a bill on this matter by February 2019, but had failed to do so.

SDP leader Davor Bernardić was reprimanded by the chairman and denied the floor because he said that the SDP's bill was being hidden from the public.

Hrvoje Zekanović of the Croatian Sovereignists party moved that the bill be discussed on Thursday, but the motion was rejected. 

Author: Hina