European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights (EPF) Rue Montoyer 23 1000 Brussels Belgium

09 September 2020 Dear President Zuzana Čaputová, dear President of the Slovak Parliament Boris Kollár,

As Members of Parliaments from across political parties, we wish to express our deep concern about recent attempts of the Slovakian Parliament to tighten the current abortion law.

Abortion is a time-sensitive matter, women, therefore, need timely and safe access to information and services. The National Council document, number 154, by prolonging the waiting period, stands in the direct opposition with good medical practice, international human rights, and WHO recommendations.1 Additionally, it infringes upon the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner’s obligations for the Member States to ensure access to abortion care and specifies that any refusal of care on grounds of religion or belief by a medical professional may never be allowed to jeopardise women’s right to access sexual and reproductive health services2. The law would harm women’s equality, dignity, autonomy, and bodily integrity, restricting their access to information and their rights to private life and health.

These are challenging and uncertain times for all of us in Europe where we as elected politicians must ask our electorate to make difficult and unprecedented sacrifices for the common good. In return, our electorate expects us as politicians to live up to our responsibilities to safeguard their rights and well-being. This includes recognising that sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to abortion, constitute essential health services and that current governments have a responsibility to protect and thereby ensure women’s continued access to this essential health intervention.

1 WHO, Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems, https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/70914/;jsessionid=20462B98841638912FC1B01FBB3D5B4E? sequence=1 2 Council of Europe, Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead We, therefore, urge the National Council ruling coalition to respect the fundamental rights of all Slovakians to make autonomous decisions about their own bodies and reproductive abilities, which are at the very core of their fundamental right to equality and privacy concerning intimate matters of physical and psychological integrity, and to refrain from adopting the bill number 154.

Kind regards, Members of Parliaments

Signatories: 1. Hon. Monika Beňová, MEP, Slovakia 2. Hon. Miroslav Číž, MEP, Slovakia 3. Hon. Robert Hajšel, MEP, Slovakia 4. Hon. Martin Hojsík, MEP, Slovakia 5. Hon. Wiezik Michal, MEP, Slovakia 6. Hon. Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, MEP, Slovakia

7. Hon. Pere Lopez Agras, MP, Andorra 8. Hon. Petra Bayr , MP, 9. Hon. , MEP, Austria 10. Hon. , MEP, Austria 11. Hon. Günther Sidl, MEP, Austria 12. Hon. , MEP, Austria 13. Sen. Fourat Ben Chikh, Belgium 14. Hon. Olivier Bierin, MP, Belgium 15. Hon. , MEP, Belgium 16. Hon. Cécile Thibaut, MEP, Belgium 17. Hon. Samuel Cogolati, MP, Belgium 18. Hon. Barbara Creemers, MP, Belgium 19. Hon. Séverine de Laveleye, MP, Belgium 20. Hon. Petra De Sutter, MEP, Belgium 21. Hon. Christophe Lacroix, MP, Belgium 22. Hon. Leroy Marie-Colline, MEP, Belgium 23. Hon. Isabelle Pauthier, MP, Belgium 24. Hon. Gilles Van den Burre, MP, Belgium 25. Hon. Albert Vicaire, MP, Belgium 26. Hon. Laurence Hennuy, MP, Belgium 27. Hon. Assita Kanko, MEP, Belgium 28. Hon. Sophie Rohonyi, MP, Belgium 29. Hon. Marketa Gregorova, MEP, Czechia 30. Hon. Radka Maxová, MEP, Czechia 31. Hon. Anne Sophie Callesen, MP, 32. Hon. Karen Ellemann, MP, Denmark 33. Hon. Bertel Haarder, MP, Denmark 34. Hon. Mona Juul, MP, Denmark 35. Hon. Stén Knuth, MP, Denmark 36. Hon. Sophie Løhde, MP, Denmark 37. Hon. Rosa Lund , MP, Denmark 38. Hon. Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, MEP, Denmark 39. Hon. Hans Christian Schmidt, MP, Denmark 40. Hon. Søren Søndergaard, MP, Denmark 41. Hon. Victoria Velasquez, MP, Denmark 42. Hon. , MEP, Denmark 43. Hon. Rasmus Nordqvist, MP, Denmark 44. Hon. , MEP, Denmark 45. Hon. Birgitte Vind, MP, Denmark 46. Hon. , MEP, Denmark 47. Hon. Eva Biaudet, MP, 48. Hon. Tarja, Filatov, MP, Finland 49. Hon. Satu, Hassi, MP, Finland 50. Hon. , MEP, Finland 51. Hon. Inka Hopsu, MP, Finland 52. Hon. Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, MEP, Finland 53. Hon. Merja Kyllönen, MP, Finland 54. Hon. Aki Linden , MP, Finland 55. Hon. , MEP, Finland 56. Hon. Ville Niinistö, MEP, Finland 57. Hon. Sirpa Pietikäinen, MEP, Finland 58. Hon. Kristiina Salonen, MP, Finland 59. Hon. Hanna Sarkkinen, MP, Finland 60. Hon. Saara-Sofia, Sirén, MP, Finland 61. Hon. Mirka Soinikoski, MP, Finland 62. Hon. Iiris Suomela, MP, Finland 63. Hon. Sofia Virta , MP, Finland 64. Sen. Maryvonne Blondin, France 65. Hon. Leila Chaibi, MEP, France 66. Hon. , MEP, France 67. Hon. Fabienne Keller, MEP, France 68. Hon. Irène Tolleret, MEP, France 69. Hon. , MEP, France 70. Hon. Amadou Camara, MP, Gambia 71. Hon. Özlem Alev Demirel, MEP, Germany 72. Hon. , MEP, Germany 73. Hon. Frank Heinrich, MP,Germany 74. Hon. Gabriela Heinrich, MP, Germany 75. Hon. Dr. Forest Christoph Hoffmann, MP, Germany 76. Hon. Georg Kippels, MP, Germany 77. Hon. Dietmar Köster, MEP, Germany 78. Hon. Cornelia Möhring, MP, Germany 79. Hon. Ottmar von Holtz, MP, Germany 80. Hon. , MEP, Germany 81. Hon. , MEP, Germany 82. Hon. Terry Reintk, MEP, Germany 83. Hon. Ulle Schauws, MP, Germany 84. Hon. , MEP, Germany 85. Hon. George Papandreou, MP, Greece 86. Hon. , MEP, Greece 87. Hon. , MEP, Ireland 88. Hon. , MEP, Ireland 89. Hon. Maria Walsh, MEP, Ireland 90. Hon. Larry P. Younquoi, MP, Liberia 91. Hon. Ali Aleisawi, MP, Libya 92. Hon. , MEP, Luxembourg 93. Hon. , MEP, Luxembourg 94. Sen. Margreet De Boer Senator, Netherlands 95. Hon. Liesje Schreinemacher, MEP, Netherlands 96. Hon. , MEP,Netherlands 97. Hon. Tax Vera, MEP, Netherlands 98. Hon. Trine Skei Grande, MP, Norway 99. Hon. Nicholas Wilkinson, MP, Norway 100. Hon. Katarzyna Kretkowska, MP, Poland 101. Hon. Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, MP, Poland 102. Hon. Krzysztof Smiszek , MP, Poland 103. Hon. Katarzyna Ueberhan, MP, Poland 104. Hon. Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, MP, Poland 105. Hon. Katarzyna Kotula, MP, Poland 106. Hon. Barbara Nowacka, MP, Poland 107. Hon. Edite Estrela, MP, Portugal 108. Hon. , MEP, Portugal 109. Sen. Florian Bodog, Romania 110. Sen. Hazel Brandy-Williams, Saint Kitts and Nevis 111. Hon. Diakhate Mously, MP, Senegal 112. Hon. , MEP, Slovenia 113. Hon. Mari Cruz Buendia Lozano, MP Spain 114. Hon. Antoni Comín, MEP, Spain 115. Hon. Oihana Etxebarrieta, MP, Spain 116. Hon. Lina Galvez Munoz, MEP, Spain 117. Hon. Maria Isabel Garcia, MP, Spain 118. Hon. Maria Guijarro, MP, Spain 119. Hon. Iñigo Iturrate, MP, Spain 120. Hon. Susana Ross, MP, Spain 121. Hon. Pedro Ruiz, MP, Spain 122. Hon. Noemi Villagrasa, MP, Spain 123. Hon. Martín Barra, MP, Spain 124. Hon. Sofia Castañon, Spain 125. Hon. Lucia Muñoz, MP, Spain 126. Hon. Malin Björk, MEP, Sweden 127. Hon. Heléne Fritzon, MEP, Sweden 128. Hon. Sara Heikkinen Breitholtz, MP, Sweden 129. Hon. , MEP, Sweden 130. Hon. Karin Karlsbro, MEP, Sweden 131. Hon. Fabian Molina, MP, Switzerland 132. Hon. Stella Creasy, MP, UK 133. Hon. John Mann, Lord, UK 134. Baroness Doreen Massey, UK 135. Hon. Virendra Sharma, MP, UK 136. Baroness Jenny Tonge, UK