This Sunday, La Libre reported the comments of an elected MR on abortion. Frédéric Petit, mayor of Wezembeek-Oppem, told us: “I am opposed to free abortion, except for therapeutic reasons, for example if we know that the child will only have a life expectancy of a few hours. […] “I am Catholic, I received a Judeo-Christian education. I remember King Baudouin who made himself unable to reign when he refused to sign the law on the decriminalization of abortion. I am extremely reluctant to a law that authorizes abortion without nuance”.
The Liberal, however, insisted that he was speaking “in a personal capacity, and not on behalf of the MR”. Because on the side of the party, President Georges-Louis Bouchez had indeed called for “to work towards a federal law that protects the right of women to dispose of their bodies”.
The declarations of Frédéric Petit, however, made noise at the political level. First of all within the MR, where Georges-Louis Bouchez decided not to reframe his elected official because, according to him, this is a “opinion and not a crime, reasons why, even if my position is totally in favor of the freedom of women to dispose of their bodies and therefore in favor of the right to abortion, he is free and responsible for his words.”GLB further adds that it “there is no party line on the subject since, since 1962, freedom of the vote has been the rule on these questions.”
But another party strongman, MP Denis Ducarme, reacted more forcefully, saying: “As long as I am a member of the Chamber, Mr. Petit will never be a parliamentarian MR. I might never accept that.”
“It is not possible to accept this kind of attitude and position within the MR. We need an immediate reaction!”tweeted Olivier Destrebecq, former Walloon deputy.
At the PS, we also bounced back on the “case”. Paul Magnette, the party’s president, commented on social media: “The decision of the Supreme Court violates the right of women to dispose of their bodies and puts their lives in danger. This position of an elected MR is revolting and unworthy. The absence of condemnation of its president says a lot regarding the reactionary turn this party is taking.”
