Support in Assembly for abortion sursis – deputy
A POLITICIAN who is attempting to have an abortion law update reconsidered has said he is quietly confident he will gain sufficient support.
Carl Meerveld will lay a sursis at tomorrow’s States meeting which, if successful, will prevent the new law going ahead.
If his late move fails, the gestation period for allowable terminations of healthy foetuses will be increased from 12 to 24 weeks and termination in the case of severe disability will be legal up to full term.
These changes were approved by States members after the matter was debated in June of last year, but Deputy Meerveld believes the law, as drafted, goes further than was made clear at the time.
‘There are some deputies, whether they be pro-choice or anti-abortion, who can see the need to reconsider these changes,’ he said.
‘But they are afraid to put their head above the parapet after seeing the abuse [fellow sursis layer] Deputy Liam McKenna and I have received. On contentious issues like this, the voices of the vociferous minority, who shout loudest, often drown out the moderate majority.’
Deputy Meerveld, who describes himself as pro-choice, said he was in favour of modernising the current law and voted for 10 out of the 12 propositions put forward last year.
However, he said, the way the law has been written brings what he described as an unintended consequence of decriminalising an abortion induced by the mother up to full term.
‘This sursis is not intended to start a debate on the pros and cons of abortion. It’s a debate about the impact of changes to the law and whether to endorse it as it is or whether it needs more consideration.’
On Sunday evening Deputy Meerveld started a petition on Change.org aimed, he said, at raising awareness.
He said he would be mentioning the petition in debate, rather than presenting it to anyone formally.
He has also invited those supporting him to gather outside the Royal Court on St James Street at 8.30am tomorrow morning.
Women’s rights campaigners, who have strongly criticised his late intervention in the debate, have also invited supporters to gather there at that time.
Deputy Meerveld's petition had garnered 44 signatures by 5.30pm yesterday. It can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3i51y9W
