Tag: Erna Solberg

Norway's conservative prime minister, Erna Solberg, has proposed tightening the country's abortion laws, in a political gambit that goes against Europe's liberal trend. The paragraph allows abortion even after 12 weeks if the child was to be "seriously ill". Developments in medical technology were leading to a "sorting" of human beings, Solberg said in a recent blog post. "Many in our party do not feel comfortable about Norway, as one of the few countries in northern Europe, allowing the abortion of a healthy twin," she said. Ireland, formerly a staunchly Catholic-conservative country, is preparing legislation to allow terminations following a referendum in May. It is fully legal in all other EU states, including Nordic states, although women in Finland need medical permission to do it. It is also partly legal in Cyprus and Poland - the other two most restrictive EU jurisdictions, in special circumstances, for instance, if the mother has been raped or risks severe health complications. Solberg's government is currently kept in power by the conservative and anti-abortion Christian Democrats party. That prompted its leader, Knut Arild Hareide, to say it wanted to enter a ruling coalition - either a 'blue' one with Solberg or a 'red' one with the opposition Social Democrats party instead. Its Oslo branch also registered 44 percent more members in the past few weeks.