The Czech government has no ambition to change current legislation on the right to abortion, the country’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka said on Tuesday in response to Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the constitutional right to abortion in the United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court last week overturned a nearly 50-year-old verdict in the Roe v. Wade trial, which enshrined the right to abortion throughout the United States. After the verdict, the decision returns to the individual American states, with more conservative states now expected to ban the practice, meaning women seeking an abortion in these states will have to travel to states where the procedure remains available.
Jurečka stated on Tuesday that while he considers abortion to be the killing of a human being, the Czech cabinet has no ambition to change the regulation in the country. According to Jurečka, it is necessary to look for ways to make it easier for women to decide to keep a child.
“It’s important for me to look for ways to offer a different decision for the mother, for her to be able to decide to keep the baby, give birth to it and take care of it, either by herself or with the support that we, as the state, can provide,” Jurečka said. He mentioned the possibility of a more efficient social system, a better network of support and counseling, and early intervention.
“Now, I will express my opinion for myself as a father and a human being: It is a living human fetus, and (abortion) is the killing of that human,” said Jurečka. He added that he understands and respects the decision that a woman must make.
“It is extremely complicated. I have no ambition to judge in any way. It is a decision that a woman must, in a way, justify to herself internally. The task for me as a politician is to create conditions so that the woman does not have to make such a decision,” he added.
