One is titled “The Night Brings Counsel – For a Day of Reflection Before Every Abortion” and the other “Save Viable Babies! – For the protection of viable babies outside the womb.” Their goal is to reduce the number of abortions in Switzerland. Since 2014, various motions and interpellations have been tabled by UDC parliamentarians at the office of the Federal Council.
Most of these texts concerned information and advice for pregnant women (Erich von Siebenthal and Franz Ruppen) or measures aimed at reducing the number of abortions (Verena Herzog). Yvette Estermann, meanwhile, was targeting late abortions, i.e., those performed after the 12th week.
Faced with the inaction – even opposition – of the federal executive to tackle this painful issue, national advisers have launched two popular initiatives. The first initiative wants to introduce a reflection period before each abortion, the second is directed against the practice of late abortions. The signature collection period will end on June 21, 2023.
Verena Herzog asked in 2014 for a three-day reflection period before each abortion. Her motion was canceled in 2016. Her concern at the time is now taken up with the popular initiative “La nuit porte conseil” (night is the mother of counsel, or ‘sleep on it’).
Waiting for 24 hours before deciding to abort seems minimal. There is already a reflection period in 18 European countries. In Switzerland, this time for reflection could reduce the number of abortions by around 10%, i.e., more than 1,000 each year.
Every year, between 400 and 500 abortions are performed in Switzerland after the 12th week of pregnancy.
Yvette Estermann thus noted that in the vast majority of cases, the decision to carry out a late abortion is due to the discovery of a disease or malformation in the unborn child, such as genetic anomalies or even slight physical deformities. Sometimes abortions are performed for lesions that could be operated on before or after birth. Most fetuses with trisomy 21 are also eliminated by means of a late abortion even though they would be viable.
The bioethics news site Gènéthique points out: “The duty that weighs on society to prevent abortion and to guarantee the right not to have an abortion is based on three general principles: the duty to protect the family, the duty to protect motherhood and the duty to protect human life. This duty has been formalized in international and European law and constitutes a positive obligation on States.”
In this perspective, the Swiss Catholic site states that the parents concerned must receive complete and precise information on the possibility of a misdiagnosis and on the risks of an abortion. Only then can mothers or parents make an informed decision. A hundred babies could thus survive each year in Switzerland.
Our Lord taught us: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (Mt. 25:40).
On December 21, 2021, two federal popular initiatives with a view to protecting human life were tabled by two SVP national councillors: Andrea Martina Geissbühler (Bern) and Yvette Estermann (Lucerne).