KDH and KU Agree with Coalition on Constitutional Change, File Joint Draft

Bratislava, 13 June (TASR) - MPs for the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and those operating in the Christian Union (KU) have agreed with the coalition on the final wording of an amendment to the Slovak Constitution. KDH caucus head Igor Janckulik has confirmed for TASR that his party has submitted an amending proposal together with the coalition. According to the agreement, proposals regarding a ban on surrogacy and the right of a child to know his/her parents, i.e. that the mother is a woman and the father is a man, will be added to the Constitution. Janckulik said that KDH managed to push through all of its priorities except for strengthening conscientious objection. All KDH MPs except Frantisek Miklosko will vote for the amendment. "We have enough signatures, KDH MPs have signed, as well as those for KU, who are also the submitters of this amending proposal along with KDH, and, of course, there are signatures of MPs for Smer-SD, Voice-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS)," Janckulik told journalists on Friday. He argued that KDH had these principles included in its election programme and that these are value-based matters that KDH has been promoting for 35 years. "Concerning the vote, KDH has been always voted for good bills, regardless of whether they are sponsored by the opposition or the coalition," he said, adding that other opposition parties also back coalition drafts sometimes. However, KDH won't support dropping a single electoral district from the Constitution, as proposed by Voice-SD. In line with the draft amendment, agreements to give birth to a child for another person would be banned with the aim of preventing the exploitation of vulnerable women. A provision stating that the mother of a child is a woman and the father of a child is a man should also be added to the Constitution. "This proposal reflects the natural biological fact that the [biological] parents of a child are a man and a woman. Naturally, this won't affect surrogate parenthood under family law institutions," stated the draft's submitters. The introduction of this definition into the Constitution is intended to prevent possible efforts to redefine the term 'parenthood' in the future. The Constitution should also stipulate that Slovakia recognises only the biologically determined male and female genders. Parliament will discuss the amendment to the Constitution on Monday (16 June), and the vote is scheduled for Tuesday (17 June). MPs for KDH, plus Richard Vasecka and Anna Zaborska (both 'Slovakia', For the People, the Christian Union/KU) have announced that they will back the amendment if their conditions are met. The votes of 90 MPs are needed to amend the Constitution. ko/df