Presidential veto on the new Slovak law on abortion: Slovak President Rudolf Schuster used his power of veto on 23 July to block a law approved by Parliament on 3 July thanks to the votes of the opposition to which were added those of the ruling party, Alliance of the new citizen (ANO); the law would have legalised abortion, in the case of serious malformations of the foetus, up to the 24th week of pregnancy. Hitherto abortion had only been legal up to the 12th week. “The Slovak Church explained Msgr. Marian Gavenda, spokesman of the Slovak bishops, in a briefing to SirEurope immediately took a stance against this law. During the national pilgrimage to the Marian sanctuary of Levoèa, on 6 July, the president of the Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Frantiek Tondra, addressing over half a million faithful, assured the President of the Republic, who was present at the ceremony, that Catholics would pray for him and for a wise and responsible decision”. “The decision to veto the law adds Gavenda was accepted with satisfaction by Msgr. Tondra, who expressed his confidence in a just solution of the problem. In an official statement, the Church expressed its utter rejection of abortion and stressed that grave moral issues such as this cannot be put to the vote. For they are moral values and principles based on the natural law, binding on every human being. Truth and morality depend neither on a parliamentary majority nor a minority”. “The hope is he concludes that in this period of moratorium there will be scope for a wider and more balanced reflection between MPs and public opinion”. The President’s veto obliges the law to go through Parliament again, where its approval will require an absolute majority (76 votes out of 150). The debate is scheduled for 4 September, just a week before the Pope’s visit.
