A series of proposals relating to abortion will be back on the agenda of the House Justice Committee next week, its chairman Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) confirmed on Thursday.
After the summer break, the Federal Assembly will be back in session, with its first committee meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, before the weekly plenary session on Thursday.
On Wednesday, September 18, it will be the turn of the Justice Committee to begin its deliberations.
At a plenary session held on 18 July of this year, the House approved an urgent procedure for examining various texts relating to abortion. The Socialists, Ecologists, Liberals, Belgian Workers Party (PTA) and DéFI supported the motion in a sit-and-stand vote. The CD&V, N-VA and Vlaams Belang opposed it while Les Engagés abstained.
The bill tabled by the Socialists should serve as a basis for discussion, its author, Patrick Prévot, said. The PTA, Ecolo-Groen and Open Vld are expected to attach their own texts.
These proposals transpose recommendations made last year by a group of experts commissioned by parliament during the previous legislature. The group recommended, among other things, extending the deadline for voluntary terminations of pregnancy to 18 weeks post-conception and abolishing the reflection period.
However, next Wednesday's committee meeting will be a simple order-of-business session. The general discussion and possible vote will take place a week later, on Wednesday 25 September.
The voting behaviour of the Mouvement Réformateur, which usually advocates freedom of choice on ethical issues, will be closely scrutinised, and could well tip the balance.
