"We hear the argument that after the law comes into force, there will be a rise in illegal activities, illegal abortions, "abortion tourism" as such laws are not in place in all European countries. There's a lot of illegal activities, a lot of law violations, and nobody comes up with an idea to abolish the Penal Code," Zbignev Jedinski, one of the authors of the bill, told a press conference on Friday.
Lawyers from the Seimas Legal Department say they have doubts as to whether the proposed bill complies with international conventions.
Under the bill proposed by the LLRA, Kęstutis Daukšys of the Labor Party and Algirdas Patackas of the Path of Courage party, an abortion would be possible only if pregnancy poses threat to the life or health of the woman or it was the result of criminal acts. In such cases, an abortion would be performed only by week 12 into pregnancy.
Currently, abortions in Lithuania are allowed until week 12, with no additional conditions. Around 10,000 abortions are performed in the country every year.
Abortions are banned in Malta, Ireland, and Poland. The remaining EU member states have abortion deadlines ranging from 10 to 18 weeks.
