A parliamentary proposal is being made by several MPs to allow those who are unable to have abortions in their home countries to have the procedure done in Iceland instead, Vísir reports.
Rósa Björk Brynjólfsdóttir, along with eighteen other MPs, are making the proposal in light of the current situation in Poland, where the court has recently ruled that abortions due to fetal defects are unconstitutional and violate Polish law. This ruling effectively makes abortion in Poland almost completely forbidden, only being allowed in cases of rape, incest, or if a pregnancy puts the person giving birth in danger of death.
The ruling has caused major outcry across the world, with Rósa Björk just one of the many calling it “a shock to women’s rights in Europe.”
Iceland is the best country to offer this service
According to the proposal, the services offered in Iceland would be free of charge and available to those who hold a European Health Insurance Card.
“There are only two countries in Europe that this parliamentary resolution would cover. There are Poland and Malta, where women’s rights to undergo abortions are much lower than in other countries”, Rósa Björk explains. The proposal also outlines that the abortions can only be carried out if “the person in question cannot undergo an abortion due to legal obstacles in their home country.”
Rósa Björk believes that Iceland is the best country to offer this service because of the strong connection between Iceland and Poland, and that this time of pandemic is the perfect time to protect human rights and show solidarity and support, saying, “Unfortunately, many governments have been using Covid to justify curtailing people’s human rights.”
MPs presenting the proposal hope that it’ll be approved in parliament and that the Minister of Health will ensure that people from other countries can apply for the services and care they need in Iceland.
”We can show in action that we stand for women’s rights and that’s we are resisting this terrible development”, says Rósa Björk.
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