Draft law amending the Act on Termination of Pregnancy and Sterilisation (459 SE) - First Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
Date: 2024-11-11 18:06
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 149
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 3h 1m
AI Summaries: 149/149 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
Bill 459, the draft law initiated by Member of the Riigikogu Varro Vooglaid regarding the “Law Amending the Law on Termination of Pregnancy and Sterilization,” addressed the financing of healthcare services by the Riigikogu. The draft law’s objective is to prohibit the financing of pregnancy termination upon request based on the national list of healthcare services and thereby to end the financing of this procedure from the state budget. Discussions revolved around the sanctity of human life and the preservation of constitutional rights, particularly the right to life and the principles of equal treatment. The need was emphasized to distinguish between “healthcare services” as a medical service for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illnesses, and the financing of voluntary termination of pregnancy as state support for a specific phenomenon, the limitations of which may affect women’s health and social consequences. The debate also focused on whether this amendment would be compatible with the constitution and what its possible effectiveness would be from the perspectives of population and women’s rights. In summary, the point was reached that the issue is deeply ethical and legally complex, and that the possible impact of the current draft law’s proceedings can be assessed with limited possibilities, but the parliament’s final decision is likely to be rejected or clarified.
Decisions Made 1
Reject the bill on first reading. The bill is dropped from consideration. The vote result: 35 in favor, 15 against, no abstentions.
Most Active Speaker
Most active speaker: Varro Vooglaid. Position: other (eclectic, independent in party affiliation, a central initiator of risks and the main presenter in discussions; statements and presentations of opinions express personal initiative as opposition or centrist style).
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
As the third item on today’s agenda, the bill initiated by Riigikogu member Varro Vooglaiu to amend the abortion and sterilization act, Bill No. 459.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid submitted a bill aimed at banning state funding for voluntary abortions, emphasizing that the constitution obligates protection of the right to life of all people, including unborn children, and that the state must not financially promote abortion.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and asks that Martin Helme present the first question.
Martin Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Martin Helme claims that the money collected from taxes is given to the Health Insurance Fund, and with it, in fact, the destruction of human life is financed, and not real healthcare, because money is always scarce and the choices are morally questionable.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid emphasizes that state funding must not be directed to actions that do not correspond to the legal definition of a health care service (prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases), and that the lack of treatment necessary for patients is unacceptable, while at the same time funding procedures that treat no one.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asks Irja Lutsar to speak.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
The presenter Irja Lutsar discusses the impact of the bill on other health care services, provides examples of procedures performed at a person’s personal request, such as elective cesarean section, and on vaccine funding issues, and emphasizes that some things are covered by the state, while others must be paid for by individuals themselves.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid noted that comparing a cesarean section with a family ward is difficult, but a discussion about financing health care services is necessary, and he criticized the idea of restricting treatment to people who have paid social tax, and he highlighted the controversies surrounding vaccines and the need for public apologies.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar invited Mart Maastik to perform.
Mart Maastik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The landscape contemplates how public funding for abortion should be handled if the pregnancy did not occur by one's own choice, for example as a result of rape, although there are no medical contraindications.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid emphasizes that the bill focuses on a very limited case: abortion without any indication, simply on a voluntary basis up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and it addresses state funding and the fact that the disclosure of the reason is not required.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Mart Helme to take the floor.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme said that a fertilized egg reflects the will to live, and life must be treated with reverence, not to intervene brutally and terminate it, following Albert Schweitzer's principle of "reverence for life".
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid claims that the embryo is a person from the moment of fertilization, and therefore one must avoid its deliberate killing and its support and funding.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman, Lauri Hussar, thanked and asked Jaak Valge to speak.
Jaak Valge
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Jaak Valge claims that the government's claim of a downward trend in abortions does not reflect reality, since the number of voluntary abortions in 2022 and 2023 was higher than in 2021, and therefore this constitutes stagnation, and he asks why this is so and whether the state has funded campaigns to prevent abortions, and if not, what that says about the government's attitude.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid notes that the number of abortions in Estonia has been falling for a long time, and for the year 2023 it was about 3,200, which he regards as a large number and for which a campaign would be needed to defend and uphold the unborn children's right to life.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman, Lauri Hussar, asks Rene Kokk to come forward.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk criticizes the coalition's plans to reduce child benefits, the impact of the car tax on large families, and the closing of schools, as well as the claim that the state wants to push through pedophiles' right to work with children, and describes it as a world turned upside down and asks where such a policy leads.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid accused the government of complete indifference toward the demographic crisis and argued that there are no concrete measures to increase birth rates, and that the support for large families, the abolition of spousal and child income tax exemptions, the car tax for large families, and the removal of private health insurance illustrate a policy that is anti-family and inhumane, leading to a decline in Estonia’s fertility.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Rain Epler.
Rain Epler
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Rain Epler said that the bill is quite narrow and focuses on ending state funding for abortions performed without a medical indication, and at the same time he would like to broaden the discussion about whether the state should also fund other services that are chosen by people of their own free will and that have no medical necessity.
Varro Vooglaid
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Vooglaid emphasizes that taxpayer money must not be used to fund procedures that do not constitute health care services, and the boundary must be clearly drawn and decisions made in accordance with the definition in the Health Care Services Act.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker invites Züleyxa Izmailova to take the floor.
Züleyxa Izmailova
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Züleyxa Izmailova emphasizes that the directions of government funding should be viewed more broadly than healthcare alone, highlights the harm of fossil fuels to health and groundwater, and asks whether these costs should be borne by society or by the polluter.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and explains that the question was not related to the topic, and that the presenter has the option to answer or not; please, Varro Vooglaid!
Varro Vooglaid
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They thanked, but said that they are not ready for a discussion on the environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels and the sharing of those costs by society, and at the moment cannot give an answer, because they wish to prepare properly for this.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair closes the discussion, thanks everyone, and asks that Signe Kivi speak next.
Signe Kivi
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Signe Kivi emphasizes that the issue of abortion concerns primarily women, but the process involves both women and men, and she asks whether the seriousness of the problem has also been addressed to men, not only to the medical sector and to government funding.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid stresses that the beginning of human life can arise from the contact between both parents, and that responsibility in sexual relations rests with both; he calls on men to be responsible and to be a support for the child and the mother, and notes that funding abortion as a health care service has failed and should not be funded in the future.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Tanel Kiiki to come.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tanel Kiik expresses concern that the bill could scare women and reduce the desire to have children, referring to the EKRE chairman's remarks about childless women.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Hussar rings the doorbell and invites Varro Vooglaid.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid said that he answers critical questions calmly and desires a multifaceted discussion, and added that although the topic concerns women's health and the lives of unborn children, the costs of a medication abortion (about 35 euros, of which the state covers half) are not high, and the discussion should stay true to its principles.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairperson requests Helle-Moonika Helme to take the floor.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The speaker accuses the state of making the poor even poorer by taking away health insurance and family benefits, while at the same time funding abortion and imposing a car tax that restricts large families' car travel, and emphasizes that priorities and how the money is spent must be set differently.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid states that the state should not fund abortion without medical indication, and that the state has a constitutional obligation to protect unborn life, and he emphasizes that a discussion about funding or poverty is not relevant to him.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invites Karmen Joller onto the stage.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller emphasizes that the state funds health crises regardless of fault, and abortion is not only a procedure but also a doctor's appointment, which in private medicine would cost at least 300 euros, and since raising a child is also expensive, the question arises how a person can cover both the abortion and the child's future costs.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid emphasizes that pulmonary treatment and joint surgeries belong to health care services, highlights the importance of personal responsibility and health insurance, and calls for proactive notification and strengthening of the adoption system.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invites Irja Lutsar to speak.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar expresses concern that if a woman gives birth to a child and does not want or cannot raise him or her, the child may be neglected, and such cases have occurred both in Estonia and elsewhere, and their number may increase even further.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid emphasizes that every person deserves to live both before and after birth and does not support terminating a child's life, but calls on the state to strengthen family and social benefits and adoption opportunities to help parents keep and raise their children.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi asks Tanel Kiiki to speak.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tanel Kiik asks whether the debate has been too one-sided and whether the draft bill could pose a risk to women's health by creating financial barriers to abortion access.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanks the audience.
Tanel Kiik
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Tanel Kiik dispels the notion that the effect of a certain element is actually negative and opposite to what is desired.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid said that the bill’s core is state financing of the deliberate killing of innocent people before birth, and it is not related to orders and prohibitions; he did not comment on other statements, noting that the question was not timely at the moment and he awaited counterarguments from the opposition, which were not presented in the chamber.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi submitted a plea to Mart Helme.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme accused the coalition of spitefulness and off-topic responses, claiming that their arguments point to illegal abortion and leading people into poverty, and that the real issues are being ignored, and finally asked whether Varro Vooglaid, as a father of many children, understands that the coalition belittles and ridicules large families.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanks the listeners.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The speech discusses the concerns of large families and their efforts to raise decent citizens, and asks whether this is understood in the same way.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid accuses the coalition of being anti-family, noting that over the past year and a half they have proposed cutting subsidies for large families, removing the additional income tax exemption for spouses and for children, removing the car tax and health insurance—all of which are unacceptable to life itself—and in his view this bill should be thrown in the trash, calling on people to act according to their conscience.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
This is simply a request to invite Kalle Grünthal onto the stage.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Grünthal compares the bill, according to which funding for abortion would be at the individual's own discretion, to a very unpleasant film, noting that doctors do not understand the bill's content and, referring to Professor Irja Lutsar, asks why there has been no 5% discount on cancer drugs.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanks the audience.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
He points out that it does not have to be done, and asks whether these medical scientists here in this hall and on the committee are still competent to decide these matters.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vooglaid, in good faith, urges not to throw the draft bill into the trash immediately, but to allow proposals for amendments and to bring it to a second reading, in order to solve the real problem and to show that it deserves consideration.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Urmas Kruuse to speak.
Urmas Kruuse
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Kruuse emphasizes that the goal of reducing abortions cannot be limited to simply continuing funding by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, but requires a broader approach to health care services and a long-term perspective – and statistics show that the number of abortions has clearly decreased.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid stated that the state may not fund abortion, because it is fundamentally wrong and is not defined as a healthcare service, and the state has a constitutional obligation to protect the lives of unborn children.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, asks Karmen Joller to take the floor.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller emphasizes that abortion funding is justified as a health care service, and restricting access worsens women's mental health, and she rhetorically asks whether next there will be a proposal to discontinue state funding for pregnancy monitoring.
Varro Vooglaid
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Varro Vooglaid emphasizes that the state must, with the protection of the right to life as a top priority, respect and protect the lives of both the unborn and the born, and he criticizes the views of Chancellor of Justice Allar Jõks and Indrek Tedder regarding the state's funding of abortions as logically deficient and in violation of Estonia's constitutional obligations.
Urmas Kruuse
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Kruuse said that it is unacceptable to label the women in the hall as murderers, stressed that the topic of abortion must remain within the context of health care services, in light of health risks and needs, and finally asked whether in Estonia it is also possible for thieves to obtain state legal protection with taxpayers’ money.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Urmas Kruuse to speak.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, expressed thanks.
Urmas Kruuse
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Kruuse discusses state-funded legal aid and asks whether that is the case.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid apologizes, saying that he did not understand the last question, and asks the chair to allow him to speak again to clarify the ending of the word, sincerely noting that the question remained incomprehensible, and Urmas Kruuse responds on the spot.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
During the speech, it was requested that the microphone be returned to Urmas Kruuse, and he continued.
Urmas Kruuse
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Kruuse pointed out that state legal aid can be obtained even in theft cases, and asked why the same logic is not applied in abortion-related cases, emphasizing the need for logical consistency.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid emphasized that on the topic of abortions one should avoid stigmatizing rhetoric, focus on reality — that when an abortion is performed, the life of an unborn child is intentionally ended — and discuss the issue of funding for national health care services, stressing that the lives of all people and the constitutional right to life must be protected.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman announced that we may continue afterwards and invited Kalle Grünthal to speak.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kalle Grünthal called the discussed draft bill murderous and asked which, in his view, is more murderous — the fact that the person who wants an abortion must pay for it, or the fact that cancer drug prices do not fall, and he added that coalition MPs were opposed to price cuts.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid claims that the main problem is not rhetoric, but the availability of life-saving medicines due to the state's high drug prices and taxation, and notes that the state funds over 3,000 prenatal abortions each year, which, in his view, reveals a contradictory image.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, invites Luisa Rõivas to perform.
Luisa Rõivas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Luisa Rõivas said that as a mother of a large family it is right and statesmanlike that state-provided health care is offered, including abortion, and we should also consider the reasons for abortions.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid claims that the Constitution obligates the protection of the right to life and the equal treatment of all people, but abortion is not considered a health service, since it is not a disease, injury, or poisoning, and the state's funding of it is logically at odds with consistency.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy speaker, Toomas Kivimägi, invited Eero Merilindi to speak.
Eero Merilind
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
I am interested in how your bill affects women's general rights and equality in society.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid said that the draft does not affect women's rights or equality and does not touch real human rights or constitutional rights, and he called for the regulation's text to be amended, because the amounts listed (35.34 euros and 50% coverage) are not true.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi appeals to Luisa Rõivas with a request: please.
Luisa Rõivas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Luisa Rõivas says that the real cost of abortion exceeds 17 euros because the procedure requires several doctor visits.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid asks why this is written this way.
Luisa Rõivas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The question is whether the constitution protects not only the fetus, but also the life and health of the pregnant woman.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid notes that although it is necessary to protect the lives and health of all women, the bill's state funding covers only elective abortions that are performed without any indication and up to the 12th week of pregnancy — not on the basis of a medical indication.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi asked Heljo Pikhofi to speak.
Heljo Pikhof
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They criticize the accusations against women regarding pregnancy and abortion that were voiced at the Social Committee meeting, and ask what role men have in this game.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid denies having said a false statement, asks not to put words in his mouth, and emphasizes that men bear at least as great a responsibility as women in the transmission of human life and must understand and follow this responsibility, including in the context of sexual relations.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi asks Helle-Moonika Helme to speak.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Emphasizing the constitutional hierarchy, Helle-Moonika Helme asks how such a decree, which does not conform to either the law or the constitution, could have been enacted, and who enacted it and which government stands behind it, and whether there is a timeline for bringing it to the table.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid said that there is no answer and that it would require a separate investigation, but the general background shows how the list of state-funded health care services contains procedures that do not correspond to the definitions in the Health Care Services Act or the Constitution, and the contradiction should be resolved either by amending the law’s legal definition or by ending state funding for abortions.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Evelin Poolametsa onto the stage.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets said that the coalition's female colleagues have repeatedly asked about men's responsibility, and if the bill clears its first reading, they would propose an amendment whereby abortion would no longer be funded through the Health Insurance Fund and the costs would be shared among the involved parties, for example, 50% would be paid by the man.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid said that taxpayers' money must not cover morally unacceptable things, such as the deliberate killing of innocent people, and the responsibility must rest with those who initiated it, although he is willing to fund health care services under certain conditions.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, asks Eero Merilindi to come and speak.
Eero Merilind
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Eero Merilind asks what 'on the basis of free will' means in the context of abortions, and requests an explanation of why abortions are actually carried out, referring to the Social Committee's lengthy discussion.
Varro Vooglaid
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Vooglaid noted that the reasons for abortions vary greatly, ranging from medical indications to trivial ones, and he cannot give a single definite answer, but must ask directly those who perform abortions.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech begins with inviting Heljo Pikhof to perform.
Heljo Pikhof
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
I recall the discussion held in the Social Committee about the requirement of parental consent for terminating a minor's pregnancy, and I ask how women can be blamed for such decisions, emphasizing that children should be raised in a caring and loving environment and that unwanted pregnancies should be prevented.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid emphasizes that the draft does not affect a woman's right to decide about abortion, and that responsibility accompanies every decision, including sexual relations and abortion, and warns that removing parental consent in cases of a minor's pregnancy would create a paradise for pedophiles.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Leo Kunnas onto the stage.
Leo Kunnas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Leo Kunnas claims that the abortion issue creates a moral divide, because contemporary science confirms that every person's DNA is unique from conception onward and irreplaceable, and from this follows the question of whether it is killing or not, and it calls on society to understand the meaning of this and to act accordingly.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid calls on society to acknowledge that life begins at conception, and therefore the protection of a person's right to life before and after birth should be the same, and he emphasizes the responsibility to reduce sexual choices and abortions.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanks and announces that there are no more questions, and invites you to listen to the discussion and the decisions taken in the leadership committee, and asks Social Committee member Karmen Joller to take the floor.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller gave an overview in the committee of the discussion held about the draft bill, which concerns the funding of abortion and its status as a health care service, emphasized the protection of women's health and the constitutional right, and the committee decided to bring the draft bill to the plenary and to propose to reject the draft bill.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanked and asked Martin Helme to pose at least one question.
Martin Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Martin Helme criticizes a eugenic notion that claims the poor should not have children and that they should be eliminated, and asks what to do with children when parents have too little money, for example during an economic crisis. Would such logic lead to the extermination of children?
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller said that the question is interesting and demagogic, and the committee did not discuss the topic, because we really couldn't think that far.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invites Rain Epler.
Rain Epler
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Rain Epler approached the director and asked for confirmation that the draft concerns only elective abortion and does not touch on banning them, and whether these abortions will be partially funded from the Health Insurance Fund's budget or people will pay for them themselves, and that last year about 3,400 abortions were decided independently.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller noted that the discussion focused on the funding of the draft and a large co-payment, as well as the reasons why women have abortions, including the impact on the sense of security and the possible link between the rise in abortions in 2022 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stressing that abortion is mostly a personal decision and may depend on the level of education.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Priit Sibuli onto the stage.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul asked whether the representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs had really read the bill in full and whether the views he expressed regarding illegal abortions and the banning of abortions referred only to the bill or extended to outlining the government's positions.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller explained that there was no talk of banning abortions, and that state funding of abortions is the aim, which should reduce the growth of backstreet abortions and prevent women's mental health disorders.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech asked Varro Vooglaid to come onto the stage.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid criticized the ministry's forceful intervention in the political debate, stressed that officials should describe the government's position and not participate in an ideological debate, and asked whether the committee chair's decision to shelve the bill at its first reading is correct and why he does not want to present more arguments.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller emphasizes that political debate should not be held with officials, and officials should not interfere in the debate, but a member of the Riigikogu may vote according to their own inner conviction and justify decisions and discuss them with voters.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, invites Priit Sibul onto the stage.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul asks how the price of this service is priced by the Health Insurance Fund and how large a portion of the amount provided for in the state budget is reimbursed to the service provider, whether €17.50 or some other amount, taking into account a 50% co-payment and the different prices among providers.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
We actually didn't discuss this: 17.50 is the price of a tablet abortion for the person themselves, a surgical abortion is more expensive, and we didn't state exact amounts.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invites Evelin Poolametsa onto the stage.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The presenter claims that the ending of state funding for abortions will lead to illegal abortions and that this threatens women's health, and the claim should be based on concrete numbers—what are those amounts and why they think so?
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller notes that precise numbers cannot be given, but international experience shows that the volume of illegal abortions and abortion tourism increases when access to abortions is restricted, and therefore abortion must be an accessible service.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid expressed concern and criticism about being told to answer the commission's questions in one to two sentences, and asked whether such parliamentary practice is good or should be avoided.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invites Varro Vooglaid to speak.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller stresses that Mr. Timpson corrected himself immediately and the protest was justified, and the draft has been discussed at length and everyone has had the opportunity to voice their opinions and answer questions.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech was merely a plea to invite Tõnis Lukas to perform.
Tõnis Lukas
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Tõnis Lukas noted that in different historical periods, societies develop traditions that it is good to shake up from time to time and to reassemble the worldview, and he pointed out that the questions have been ideological, asking whether the draft bill will end state funding of abortions and whether funding will continue in cases of health risks.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Joller claims that the proposed bill will end state funding for voluntary abortions, but world experience shows that reducing access increases abortion tourism, the number of illegal abortions, and women's mental health problems, causing higher costs and moral harm to the woman.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanked and asked that Tõnis Lukas present the second question.
Tõnis Lukas
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Tõnis Lukas pointed out that such discussions are widespread, and if Estonia were to adopt the draft bill, questions would arise about the scope of migration destinations, whether it would cover all of Europe or the entire world, and how the legal space of states and the free movement of people are related to it.
Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Karmen Joller said that the topic was not discussed, and the Estonian Society of Gynecologists supports state funding of abortions and trusts doctors.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanks, ends the questions and opens negotiations, inviting Irja Lutsar on behalf of the Eesti 200 faction and giving her eight minutes of extra time.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar emphasized that the bill would shift the funding of abortions onto the woman herself, would create ambiguity and stigmatization of women, and would increase the risk of illegal abortions and health hazards, and therefore Eesti 200 does not support it and calls for the bill to be rejected at the first reading.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy speaker, on behalf of the faction, thanked and asked for eight minutes, and at the same time Züleyxa Izmailova asked for extra time.
Züleyxa Izmailova
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The speaker asserts that Proposal 450 is a purely substitutive measure, emphasizes women's right to self-determination and to a safe termination of pregnancy, and calls for focusing on the environment and for reducing the impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
On behalf of the Isamaa faction, we express our great gratitude and turn to our good colleague Priit Sibul.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul said that the proposal to end state funding for elective abortions is a substantive issue, but the discussion drifted to everything else and did not reach the content of the proposal; his personal stance is harsher than the proposal, but he sees it as the minimum that could be discussed, and he hopes that, at least in its minimal form, this proposal will finally be adopted, and he thanks Varro.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
She thanks and asks that Helle-Moonika Helme be granted the floor on behalf of the EKRE faction.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helle-Moonika Helme claims that the draft bill does not ban abortion, but addresses the funding of the state and health care services, and calls for the creation of a new ethical paradigm in the 21st century that emphasizes the protection of life.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller asks whether additional time is desired.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They express a wish to have more time.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The speech expresses the wish that three more minutes be given.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Small steps can bring about big changes, because if we understand and inform society at large about what we are actually doing when we take away someone’s opportunity to be born, that is a big step in the right direction, and we should stand up for children, change society’s attitudes, and think about the positions of the unborn and existing children, women, men, and lawmakers as we vote down the bill.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Having thanked the presenter, Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller concluded the negotiations, announced the leading committee's proposal to reject Draft Bill 459 at its first reading, began preparing for the vote, and asked Kalle Grünthal to present a procedural question.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kalle Grünthal praised the quality and thoroughness of Varro Vooglaiu's draft, but asked whether it is even reasonable to discuss it if some members of the Riigikogu have not read through or understood the contents of the draft.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Arvo Aller announced that it was not a procedural matter, and he put to a vote the Steering Committee's proposal to reject Draft No. 459 at the first reading, and asked everyone to vote.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The proposal gained support (35 in favor, 16 against; there were no abstentions) and Bill 459 has been rejected and is withdrawn from consideration.