SGP leader threatens to withdraw support over proposed late-term abortion policy
SGP chairman Chris Stoffer warned the minority cabinet that his party may end its constructive stance if the government does not halt a plan to allow abortions between 22 and 24 weeks.
Documents obtained by a Dutch newspaper reveal that hospitals are setting up procedures to terminate pregnancies at 22 to 24 weeks. Minister of Health Sophie Hermans responded with a lengthy parliamentary letter, insisting there is no widening of abortion services and rebranding the project as an "exploration" after earlier calling it a pilot. The SGP, led by Chris Stoffer, expressed strong opposition to the late-term abortion plan and linked its continued cooperation with the coalition to demands for reduced abortion numbers and the revocation of the commercial surrogacy legislation.
Stoffer warned that without these concessions the SGP would end its constructive attitude toward the cabinet, jeopardising the minority government's ability to pass legislation. The coalition, headed by D66 Prime Minister Rob Jetten, relies on the SGP's votes in both chambers to secure a majority. The dispute highlights tensions between the right-wing opposition and the liberal coalition on reproductive-rights policy.
