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Dutch lawmakers seek to reclassify abortion as 'health care'
The Dutch opposition party Pro has proposed a bill to remove abortion from the criminal code in the Netherlands and regulate it as part of health care.
Abortion advocates have introduced a bill to the Dutch parliament calling for the reclassification of abortion as health care, removing it from the criminal code of the Netherlands.
The law currently allows abortion up to 24 weeks. After, it is allowed for a serious fetal health diagnosis and when the child is considered likely to suffer after birth.
The MP who introduced the bill, a former midwife who has assisted with abortions, said keeping abortion under the criminal code adds to the stigma and shame women feel about abortion.
In 2023, abortion rules were updated in Netherlands to allow family doctors to prescribe the abortion pill and to lift the mandatory five-day waiting period.
Earlier this month, Dutch health care inspectors allowed the nation's only online abortion pill business to continue operating despite its failures.
Behind the bill is the feminist group Dolle Mina, which played a role in the country's legalization of abortion under the nation's Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1981.
MP Lisa Vliegenthart, a former midwife who has assisted women with abortions, gave the bill to abortion advocates on Monday morning outside of parliament.
"This is incredibly important because abortion is healthcare, and as far as I am concerned healthcare has no place in the criminal code,” she said. “That is why we want to remove abortion from the criminal code and include it in healthcare legislation.”
Under the Termination of Pregnancy Act, which passed by a slim margin of 76-74 in the lower house and 38-37 in the Senate, women can undergo an abortion until about 24 weeks or pregnancy.
After 24 weeks, the law allows women to have abortions when the preborn baby is diagnosed with a serious health condition and is suffering or is likely to suffer after birth with no hope of improvement. All abortions must be committed by a doctor in a licensed clinic or hospital.
Pro said that the proposed bill would keep those requirements in place, but place them under healthcare instead of the criminal code.
“Of course abortion has to be carried out carefully,” Vliegenthart said. “But you don’t need the criminal code for that.” She said that keeping abortion under the criminal code adds to the stigma and shame women feel.
In 2023, abortion rules were updated in Netherlands to allow family doctors to prescribe the abortion pill and to lift the mandatory five-day waiting period. Earlier this month, Dutch health care inspectors allowed the nation's only online abortion pill business to continue operating despite its failures.
Thuisabortus.nl has been giving the abortion pill to women without a doctor's oversight of their health. The site’s founder, GP Peter Leusink, called the requirements "outdated laws," but under the threat of being shut down, it has begun calling every woman who requests the abortion pill to ask her how far along she is and inform her of all potential complications and follow-up care.
It has prescribed 1,680 abortion pills since April.
The Netherlands is an example of how the culture of death takes root in a society, and the damage it can cause.
In September, it was announced that a toddler had been euthanized in the Netherlands because of a severe disability. The Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act was passed in 2002, allowing euthanasia for individuals over age 12 if they were considered to be suffering from an illness or disability with no hope of recovering. In 2004, the law was expanded to allow infants up to age one to be euthanized if the parents and doctors agreed to it and the baby was experiencing suffering or expected to experience future suffering.
Abortion and infanticide are not health care. It is not necessary to intentionally kill an innocent human being in order to provide medical care to another person.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
David Daleiden
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International
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International
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Guest Column
Right to Life UK
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Pop Culture
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Investigative
Nancy Flanders
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International
Nancy Flanders
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Abortion Pill
Nancy Flanders
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Issues
Nancy Flanders
·International·By Nancy Flanders
Dutch lawmakers seek to reclassify abortion as 'health care'
The Dutch opposition party Pro has proposed a bill to remove abortion from the criminal code in the Netherlands and regulate it as part of health care.
Abortion advocates have introduced a bill to the Dutch parliament calling for the reclassification of abortion as health care, removing it from the criminal code of the Netherlands.
The law currently allows abortion up to 24 weeks. After, it is allowed for a serious fetal health diagnosis and when the child is considered likely to suffer after birth.
The MP who introduced the bill, a former midwife who has assisted with abortions, said keeping abortion under the criminal code adds to the stigma and shame women feel about abortion.
In 2023, abortion rules were updated in Netherlands to allow family doctors to prescribe the abortion pill and to lift the mandatory five-day waiting period.
Earlier this month, Dutch health care inspectors allowed the nation's only online abortion pill business to continue operating despite its failures.
Behind the bill is the feminist group Dolle Mina, which played a role in the country's legalization of abortion under the nation's Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1981.
MP Lisa Vliegenthart, a former midwife who has assisted women with abortions, gave the bill to abortion advocates on Monday morning outside of parliament.
"This is incredibly important because abortion is healthcare, and as far as I am concerned healthcare has no place in the criminal code,” she said. “That is why we want to remove abortion from the criminal code and include it in healthcare legislation.”
Under the Termination of Pregnancy Act, which passed by a slim margin of 76-74 in the lower house and 38-37 in the Senate, women can undergo an abortion until about 24 weeks or pregnancy.
After 24 weeks, the law allows women to have abortions when the preborn baby is diagnosed with a serious health condition and is suffering or is likely to suffer after birth with no hope of improvement. All abortions must be committed by a doctor in a licensed clinic or hospital.
Pro said that the proposed bill would keep those requirements in place, but place them under healthcare instead of the criminal code.
“Of course abortion has to be carried out carefully,” Vliegenthart said. “But you don’t need the criminal code for that.” She said that keeping abortion under the criminal code adds to the stigma and shame women feel.
In 2023, abortion rules were updated in Netherlands to allow family doctors to prescribe the abortion pill and to lift the mandatory five-day waiting period. Earlier this month, Dutch health care inspectors allowed the nation's only online abortion pill business to continue operating despite its failures.
Thuisabortus.nl has been giving the abortion pill to women without a doctor's oversight of their health. The site’s founder, GP Peter Leusink, called the requirements "outdated laws," but under the threat of being shut down, it has begun calling every woman who requests the abortion pill to ask her how far along she is and inform her of all potential complications and follow-up care.
It has prescribed 1,680 abortion pills since April.
The Netherlands is an example of how the culture of death takes root in a society, and the damage it can cause.
In September, it was announced that a toddler had been euthanized in the Netherlands because of a severe disability. The Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act was passed in 2002, allowing euthanasia for individuals over age 12 if they were considered to be suffering from an illness or disability with no hope of recovering. In 2004, the law was expanded to allow infants up to age one to be euthanized if the parents and doctors agreed to it and the baby was experiencing suffering or expected to experience future suffering.
Abortion and infanticide are not health care. It is not necessary to intentionally kill an innocent human being in order to provide medical care to another person.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
David Daleiden
·Issues
Bridget Sielicki
·International
Cassy Cooke
·International
Angeline Tan
·International
Bridget Sielicki
·Guest Column
Right to Life UK
·Pop Culture
Nancy Flanders
·Investigative
Nancy Flanders
·International
Nancy Flanders
·Abortion Pill
Nancy Flanders
·Issues
Nancy Flanders
·