Finland – 50K signatures for citizens’ initiative on abortion law reform

Current laws are from 1970 and require two doctors' testimonials before a woman can terminate a pregnancy.

18.10.2020

A citizens’ initiative to bring Finland’s abortion laws into the 21st century has gathered more than 50,000 signatures from supporters, compelling lawmakers to consider the changes it proposes.

The legislative proposal seeks to do away with the requirement for a woman to get clearance from two doctors before she can have an abortion. According to the Feminist Association Unioni, the main sponsor of the initiative, medicalising abortion places an unwarranted burden on the healthcare system. It also unnecessarily prolongs the process, since the majority of terminations no longer require hospital procedures.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/50k_signatures_for_citizens_initiative_on_abortion_law_reform/11600889

18.10.2020

abortion law reform

Amnesty International Finland

citizens' initiative

Family Federation of Finland

Feminist Association Unioni

Finnish League for Human Rights

Finland – Foreign Minister Soini faces no action over anti-abortion blog post

Foreign Minister Soini faces no action over anti-abortion blog post
The Chancellor of Justice threw out two formal complaints over Timo Soini's online opinions, citing free speech.

27.11.2018

Finland's Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti ruled on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Timo Soini will face no consequences over his public anti-abortion sentiments.

Pöysti overruled two complaints he had received in connection to one of Soini's blog posts, wherein he defended the Argentine Senate's decision to scrap a proposal to make abortion legal in the country. The view was at odds with the government's official policy line.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/foreign_minister_soini_faces_no_action_over_anti-abortion_blog_post/10528030

27.11.2018

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anti-choice expression

Finnish FM survives confidence vote after abortion row

Finnish FM survives confidence vote after abortion row
After surviving a no confidence vote, Finland's Foreign Minister Timo Soini admitted he had

21 Sep 2018

HELSINKI: Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini clung on to his job on Friday (Sep 21) after winning a no-confidence vote in parliament over his attendance at an anti-abortion vigil during an official visit to Canada.

Members of parliament voted 100 to 60 against a motion to oust Soini.

Continued: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/finnish-fm-survives-confidence-vote-after-abortion-row-10746290

21.09.2018

National Coalition Party

Finnish Chancellor of Justice sees FM’s appearance in anti-abortion event problematic

Finnish Chancellor of Justice sees FM's appearance in anti-abortion event problematic

Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-19
Editor: Mu Xuequan

HELSINKI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Poysti determined that the participation of Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini in an anti-abortion event in Canada last May was "problematic", the Chancellor's office said on Tuesday.

The Chancellor took the stand in response to citizens' complaints about Soini's actions. The Chancellor is an independent highest supervising official of legality in Finland.

Continued: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/19/c_137477196.htm

19.09.2018

Finland – Opposition parties move to oust anti-abortion Foreign Minister Soini

Opposition parties move to oust anti-abortion Foreign Minister Soini
Four parties in the Finnish parliament are to propose a motion of no-confidence in Foreign Minister Timo Soini over his opposition to abortion rights.

Sep 7, 2018

Foreign Minister Timo Soini faces a vote of no-confidence in parliament after four opposition parties came together to propose the motion. Their move follows a string of anti-abortion statements Soini has made on his blog and his participation in an anti-abortion demonstration in Canada while on an official visit.

SDP parliamentary group leader Antti Lindtman said that a majority of MPs are opposed to Soini’s actions and statements.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/opposition_parties_move_to_oust_anti-abortion_foreign_minister_soini/10393623

07.09.2018

Finland – Soini’s views on abortion are medieval, slams Halla-aho

Soini’s views on abortion are medieval, slams Halla-aho

Created: 14 August 2018

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini’s (BR) views on abortion are medieval, states Jussi Halla-aho, the chairperson of the Finns Party.

“I think it’s slightly disconcerting if your thoughts revolve too much around questions like this. I think there should also be other themes in politics,” Halla-aho stated in a news conference held in Helsinki on Monday, 13 August.

Continued: http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/15748-soini-s-views-on-abortion-are-medieval-slams-halla-aho.html

14.08.2018

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anti-choice politicians

Finland – Soini’s anti-abortion views rejected again by fellow cabinet members

Soini’s anti-abortion views rejected again by fellow cabinet members

Created: 13 August 2018

Timo Soini (BR), the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has once again raised eyebrows by declaring his opposition to abortion.

Soini on Friday commended the Argentine Senate for rejecting a bill that would have legalised abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. “Long live life! Stronger than death,” he wrote in his personal blog.

Continued: http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/15744-soini-s-anti-abortion-views-rejected-again-by-fellow-cabinet-members.html

13.08.2018

anti-choice politicians

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs

Finland – Foreign Minister Soini riles fellow politicians with anti-abortion comments

Foreign Minister Soini riles fellow politicians with anti-abortion comments
Timo Soini has again made public comments about his opposition to abortion; a move that many of his colleagues in Finnish politics believe is inappropriate.

Aug 11, 2018

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini has once again set off a storm of indignation in Finland after writing a blog entry on Thursday praising Argentina for its decision to keep abortion illegal.

"Argentina is a lovely country. The Pope is an Argentinean who is widely listened to and respected. Words have weight," he wrote in his popular online journal on August 9.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/foreign_minister_soini_riles_fellow_politicians_with_anti-abortion_comments/10348539

Finland – Foreign Minister defends role in anti-abortion march while on official trip to Canada

Foreign Minister defends role in anti-abortion march while on official trip to Canada
Foreign Minister Timo Soini told Yle that he sees no contradiction between his personal convictions and Finnish foreign policy.

May 31, 2018

On Wednesday, tabloid daily Iltalehti reported that Foreign Minister Timo Soini, who is Catholic, had participated in an anti-abortion march while on an official trip to represent Finland at Arctic Council meetings in Ottawa, Canada in early May.

According to the paper, Soini wrote about the event in his blog. “In Ottawa, one night I attended an evening vigil by the Pro-Life movement. It was an outdoor event, not in church. The event preceded a major pro-life march in Ottawa the next day,” the minister said.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/foreign_minister_defends_role_in_anti-abortion_march_while_on_official_trip_to_canada/10232304

31.05.2018

National Coalition Party

Ireland (Irish Republic)

Anti-choice

Politics

1968: a revolutionary year – also for reproduction

1968: a revolutionary year – also for reproduction

14.05.2018
By: Nikolai Astrup, Minister of International Development, Norway;- Isabella Lövin, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister, Sweden; Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark; and Anne-Mari Virolainen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Finland.

This year, in 2018, it is 50 years since reproductive rights – including the right to decide whether to have children and how many children to have – were first formally recognised.

More than 200 million women in developing countries are still denied these rights.

1968 gave its name to a generation known for its ambition to change the world for the better. And a historic decision was made that year, a decision with the potential to fundamentally change the lives of all people – and of women in particular.

Continued: http://um.dk/en/news/newsdisplaypage/?newsid=c37e4a26-76ea-4256-82c6-00bd29def796