Abortion in Belgium

Abortion in Belgium was fully legalised on 4 April 1990.[1] Abortion is legal until 12 weeks after conception (14 weeks after the last menstrual period)[2][3] it is required for women to receive counselling at least six days prior to the abortion and to check in with her doctor to monitor her health in the weeks after the procedure.[3] Later abortions are permitted if there is a risk to the woman's life or the fetus shows risk of birth defects.[3] As of 2009, the abortion rate was 9.2 abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44 years.[4]

1990 liberalisation of abortion laws

Prior to 1990, due to the influences of the Catholic Church, Belgium remained one of the few European countries where abortion was illegal. However, abortions were unofficially permitted (and even reimbursed by the mutualities) as long as they were registered as "curettage". It was estimated that 20,000 abortions were performed each year (in comparison to 100,000 births).[5]

When the law liberalising abortion was enacted, it was controversial to many Belgians.[6] A bill to partially liberalise abortion was first submitted by Senators Lucienne Herman-Michielsens and Roger Lallemand in early-1990, and despite the opposition of the ruling Christian People's Party, a coalition of the Socialist and Liberal parties in the federal lower house passed a law to partially liberalise abortion in Belgium. The Belgian bishops appealed to the population at large with a public statement that expounded their doctrinal and pastoral opposition to the law. They warned Belgian Catholics that anyone who co-operated "effectively and directly" in the procurement of abortions was "excluding themselves from the ecclesiastical community." Motivated by the strong stance of the Belgian bishops and the fact that he and his wife Queen Fabiola hadn't been able to get children themselves, King Baudouin notified the Prime Minister on 30 March that he could not sign the law without violating his conscience as a Catholic.[7] Since the legislation would not have the force of law without the king's signature, his refusal to sign threatened to precipitate a constitutional crisis.[8] However, the problem was resolved by an agreement between the king and Prime Minister Martens, by which the Belgian government used a constitutional mechanism which declared the king unable to govern, assumed his authority and enacted the law, after which the Federal Parliament then voted to reinstate the king the next day.[5][9][10][11][12][13] The Vatican described the king's action as a "noble and courageous choice" dictated by a "very strong moral conscience."[14] Others have suggested that Baudouin's action was "little more than a gesture", since he was reinstated as king just 44 hours after he was removed from power.[7]

References
  1. Belgian King, Unable to Sign Abortion Law, Takes Day Off
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2016-01-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Termination of Pregnancy/Abortion in Belgium". Angloinfo Brussels. Angloinfo. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  4. "World Abortion Policies 2013". United Nations. 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  5. Belien, Paul (2005). A Throne in Brussels: Britain, the Saxe-Coburgs and the Belgianisation of Europe. Devon: Imprint Academic. pp. 292–293. ISBN 1-84540-033-X.
  6. Belgium Eases Its Abortion Law
  7. Hubert, Vivian; Green, Howard (1 March 2000). New History of Christianity. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 389. ISBN 978-0-8264-1227-0. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  8. Barker, Eileen (15 April 2010). The Centrality of Religion in Social Life. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-4094-0343-2. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  9. Wilsford, David (1995). Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe. Greenwood Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-313-28623-0.
  10. Roberts, Geoffrey K.; Hogwood, Patricia (2003). West European Politics. Manchester University Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-7190-5421-1.
  11. Witte, Els; Craeybeckx, Jan; Meynen, Alain (2010). Political History of Belgium. VUB University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-90-5487-517-8.
  12. Encyclopedia of World Constitutions. Facts on File. 2006. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-8160-6078-8.
  13. Sandro Magister, "Obama's Pick for Vice President Is Catholic. But the Bishops Deny Him Communion"
  14. "Pope Prays at Tomb of Abortion Foe". Associated Press. 4 June 1995.
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