Government sources told local Utrinski Vesnik daily on Friday that several women MPs from the ruling centre right VMRO DPMNE had launched an initiative for new more restrictive legislation.
The source said the goal was not to make abortion illegal, but to enforce tighter rules and conditions. Asking approval from the male partner was mentioned as one of the possible measures.
The newspaper said the health ministry recently made a comparative analysis showing that Macedonia is among the most liberal countries regarding abortion, a fact that could be used as an alibi for tighter legislation.
The Ministry of Health officially denied that they are involved in preparing a new law. Macedonia’s current law allow abortion in five cases: if a woman’s life, physical or mental health is endangered, if the child is found to be suffering abnormalities, or it was conceived by rape.
The provisions are similar to those in force across the European Union, except for Poland, Portugal and Malta, that have tighter regulations.
The president of the National Women’s Council, Savka Todorovska, said that a tighter law would endanger women’s basic rights and even their lives because they would be forced to seek unlicensed clinics that perform abortions in unsafe conditions.
“We are against more a restrictive law because it goes against all international principles and human rights conventions. We do not want to return three centuries backwards”, Todorovska said.
She said her organisation had already asked Prime Minister and VMRO DPMNE head Nikola Gruevski about the appearance of anti-abortion posters across Macedonia for almost a year now, but had received no answer.
