The government is planning to introduce new laws to allow women to terminate pregnancies in cases of fatal birth defects that cannot be medically treated or corrected, Parliament was told yesterday.

Responding to a question raised by SJB Kalutara District MP Ajith P. Perera, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said necessary measures are being taken for the introduction of a law to allow women to terminate pregnancies in cases of fatal birth defects that cannot be medically treated or corrected.

Nanayakkara said that he had previously explained the systematic process required to be followed while drafting the legal framework in this regard.

The Justice Minister said the process will not be dragged on and the Justice Ministry hopes to introduce the necessary legal provisions soon.

“We have started reviewing the existing laws in this regard and those linked to this matter. A list has been compiled of the relevant laws. The Justice Ministry is working on creating the necessary system for these laws. We have already decided to submit this matter before the Law Commission. Therefore, we were only able to do this in the last four months,” he said.

Nanayakkara said that the Ministry is focusing on identifying the laws and the necessary systems required to introduce a legal framework.

Stating that this was taking some time, he clarified that the Ministry was not delaying or failing to address the need for laws to allow women to terminate pregnancies in cases of fatal birth defects that cannot be medically treated or corrected.

The legal framework being drafted would provide legal backing for women to make this decision when lethal foetal abnormalities are detected during gestation.It is reported that under the proposed legal procedure, two medical specialists must confirm the severity of the condition, and terminations would be conducted in State-run hospitals.