Swedish Christian Democrats want to defend abortion against conservatives

The Christian Democrats have, over the years, been accused of wanting to restrict the right to abortion. After Friday’s court decision in the US –which means that individual states can ban abortions– the Christian Democrats (KD) called a press conference on Monday. Party leader Ebba Busch said she understands the concerns many women in the US feel and Swedish women’s concerns about the same thing can happen in Sweden.

Busch, therefore, emphasised that the Christian Democrats are firmly behind Sweden’s abortion legislation and that the party will defend it. Abortion in Sweden is free until the 18th week. At the same time, the KD leader also presented a document she called an “abortion contract”.

She read beforehand that “we who sign this contract stand behind Sweden’s abortion legislation and promise to defend it, should it come under attack from forces within our country or the European Union” and explained that she had already signed as a representative of KD and that it is now up to the party leaders of the other parliamentary parties to do the same. “There is room for eight parliamentary parties to sign. I myself have signed a company for the Christian Democrats”, Busch said, according to the Christian Swedish daily Dagen. When founded in 1964, KD had conservative abortion views but swifted to a pro-choice stance during the 1980s.

The Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, said she is worried about the Swedish abortion legislation. According to the Social Democrat, “similar right-wing conservative forces exist here in Sweden”.

Similar moves

In other European countries, lawmakers made similar moves to ensure abortion legislation. On Saturday, a majority of the French parliament expressed support for a bill seeking to enshrine French women’s right to abortion in the country’s constitution.

In Denmark, the chairman of the government supporting Green Left party (SF), Pia Olsen Dyhr, wants to constitutionally secure the right to free abortion for women in Denmark. “social progress must never be taken for granted, and we want to ensure that women’s rights are not taken away from them again, as in the United States. At the same time, we want to send a signal to the outside world”, she wrote on Twitter.