This week, the government approved the negative conclusion prepared by the Ministry of Health (SAM) on the draft Reproductive Health Act.
According to the Ministry, the proposed regulation is not purposeful, as issues of accessibility, quality of reproductive health services, protection of patients’ rights, information, pregnancy care, abortion procedures, youth education, and other areas are already regulated by existing laws and orders of the Minister of Health.
“The regulation proposed by the draft will not comply with the principle of purposiveness established by the Law on the Fundamentals of Legislation of the Republic of Lithuania (…), meaning that a draft legal act must be prepared and a legal act adopted only when the intended goals cannot be achieved by other means,” stated SAM.
As reported by BNS, a group of members of the Seimas from both ruling and opposition factions propose to legalize pregnancy termination by law. Currently, the abortion procedure is defined by an order of the Minister of Health.
According to the draft, the current procedure for pregnancy termination set by the minister would be transferred into the law. In the absence of medical indications, pregnancy may be terminated up to the 12th week, and with indications – up to the 22nd week.
Abortion may also be performed up to the 22nd week after rape or if pregnancy results from incest.
The draft law proposes that the pregnancy termination service be provided to women free of charge, with costs reimbursed from the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund.
According to the draft, abortion may be performed surgically or medically, and the medical pregnancy termination service may be provided remotely at the pregnant woman’s request.
The draft law also establishes principles for providing reproductive health care services, ensuring their accessibility, availability, quality, confidentiality, and the individual’s right to informed and free decision-making.
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It also establishes assistance for persons who have experienced sexual violence, including free medical, psychological, and social support, specialized assistance centers operating throughout the country, emergency contraception, and infection prevention.
The draft law was submitted by Seimas member and social democrat Birutė Vėsaitė, Chair of the Seimas Human Rights Committee Laurynas Šedvydis, other social democrats, as well as liberals Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Edita Rudelienė, and others, and conservative Jurgita Sėjonienė.
According to SAM, the principles of non-discrimination of patients, the right to information, and informed consent are already established in the Law on Patients’ Rights and Compensation for Health Damage, while requirements for accessibility and quality of health care services are set in the Health System Law.
The Ministry also notes that the health care of pregnant women, parturients, and newborns, prenatal diagnostics, organization of obstetric services, and health care for persons who have experienced sexual violence are already regulated by existing legal acts and minister-approved procedural descriptions.
Additionally, the Ministry notes that topics of sexuality education are already integrated into general education programs.
“If there is a need to detail the content or methodology of sexuality education, it would be more appropriate to establish this through subordinate legal acts and education programs, rather than at the level of law,” the conclusion states.
The draft passed the submission stage in parliament last May, at which time a government opinion was requested.
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