Proposition 54K1759

Proposition de loi modifiant les lois coordonnées du 10 mai 2015 relatives à l'exercice des professions des soins de santé, afin de permettre la distribution de moyens de contraception d'urgence et non susceptibles de présenter un danger pour la santé par des organismes agréés.

General information ¶

Authors

PS | SP André Frédéric, Karine Lalieux, Alain Mathot, Daniel Senesael, Fabienne Winckel, Özlem Özen

Submission date

April 13, 2016

Official page

Visit

Status

Rejected

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

abortion contraception medicinal product health care young person

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

CD&V Open Vld N-VA LDD MR VB

Voted to reject

Groen Vooruit Ecolo PS | SP DéFI PVDA | PTB

Abstained from voting

LE ∉

Party dissidents ¶

• Olivier Maingain (MR) voted to reject.
• Stéphanie Thoron (MR) abstained from voting.

Contact form ¶

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Discussion ¶

June 8, 2017 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues, if we have requested that this proposal be put on the agenda of the plenary session with the wish to refuse to reject it, it is against some women and some young girls who have difficulty going to the pharmacy themselves to get the morning afternoon pill they need.

To meet the needs of these girls and young women, it is important that they have access to them in a planning center where multidisciplinary teams of social stakeholders and care providers work. Through this proposal, we do not want to do anything. We do not want to distribute anything to anyone. We want to create a legal framework for providers that give this necessary pill to do so by being in legality. We want to ensure that this possibility that will be given is respected by the federal entities that manage the family planning centers and that these are protected from political intentions or changes that may occur in the Regions.

The goal is really to meet the needs of these young women if one wants to prevent abortions, unwanted pregnancies and if one wants to ensure their good health.

I want to talk about women’s rights and, in particular, the importance of the right to dispose of our bodies. This is something fundamental, especially in a context where this right is constantly challenged all over the world. Sometimes obviously, but sometimes also more insidiously. This is also the case at home.

Indeed, in Belgium, proposals flourish, sometimes to allow a very early prenatal recognition of the father, sometimes to lower the threshold for a recognition of children born without life. It is not the absence of an answer from the Prime Minister to my topical question this afternoon that will reassure me.

This right of women to dispose of their bodies must therefore be tirelessly defended, as must the right to abortion and access to contraception. In this context, family planning centers are valuable partners. These are places where everyone can find help in terms of sexual and affective life. They are also essential for young girls and precarious or vulnerable women. Doctors work there to deliver the contraceptive pill or the morning after pill. Unfortunately, they are not constantly present.

It is therefore difficult to always be able to meet the needs – sometimes urgent – of each, unless operating illegally. This is a reality of which we cannot pretend ignorance. Since this situation is known, my group considers it important to propose a solution. In this case, it is to enable family planning centers to carry out their tasks as best as possible and to provide their staff with the ability to respond effectively to emergencies, including by offering access to the morning afternoon pill.

Unfortunately, our bill was rejected by a majority. It simply aimed to help family planning centers continue to legally – and even in the absence of a doctor – provide only emergency contraception to young women who request it.

This is a proposal aimed merely at ensuring women’s access to contraception. This is a very simple and quite framed proposal.

I admit that our proposal was far less broad than that of our colleagues from Ecolo-Groen. They were quite different. The only problem was the delivery of the next-day pill. A day-after pill that, according to the WHO, is not likely to present a danger to health, under normal conditions of use, unlike the contraceptive pill, which must be subject to specific medical guidance, given the side effects it may cause.

I am very sorry that the Minister of Health is not there. This shows the logic of everything we have. And then the minister leaves. It is perfect! Should he not answer? You see how important this is to the government. It is deplorable!

Thank you Mr President.

De Block saw the morning afternoon pill as a hormone bomb. As a doctor, she is far from telling the truth. It is worrying. He just tried to justify his position on the matter. Because what it calls a hormone bomb can be delivered with or without a prescription at the pharmacy. Above all, and this is where its arguments no longer hold, this hormone bomb is for free sale on the internet, through online pharmacies, where no contact is possible between the buyer and a health professional.

We were very disappointed with this situation. There have been a lot of unspoken things and we find ourselves in a situation where this morning after pill needs to be delivered urgently. Planning centers are working illegally for now and it was here to give them a framework in which they can work to avoid unwanted pregnancies and to avoid IVG.

I regret that this proposal was not supported by the majority. I also regret the lack of seriousness at the committee’s work because the minister was rarely present at the discussions. It only happened once, when it was worth it. This is contempt for parliament, family planning centers and the situation of women!