Sweden Church Leaders May Oppose Government Re-Election Over Abortion

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 25, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Sweden Church Leaders May Oppose Government Re-Election Over Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 25
, 2007

Stockholm, Sweden (LifeNews.com) — Two top church leaders in Sweden say they may urge Christians to oppose the re-election of the nation’s government in upcoming elections because of a proposal to expand abortions. Last week, government officials proposed to make Sweden an international destination for women seeking abortions.

The Christian Democrats political party, which frequently has the support of religious groups, could find itself being hit the hardest over the fallout.

Sweden’s Catholic bishop Anders Arborelius and Sten-Gunnar Hedin, head of the evangelical Philadelphia Church in Stockholm told The Local newspaper about their frustrations.

"We are sad that this proposal is backed by a Christian Democrat social affairs minister, Goran Hagglund," the two wrote in a recent letter.

It is incomprehensible that he is supporting this proposal while claiming that it was required by the EU, something that this country’s leading EU law expert, Professor Ulf Bernitz, insists is not the case," they said.

The Christian Democrats are one of the smaller political parties — with just about four percent support in the polls — but they are partners with other parties in forming the ruling coalition government.

Should they lose support, they could find themselves out of the Swedish parliament and the government’s coalition could unravel.

"If the Christian Democrats are ejected from the Riksdag it will undoubtedly have consequences for the Alliance," they told The Local.

They said that they could work with other Christian political activists that could be forced to work against the chances of the coalition government being re-elected if it doesn’t back down from the abortion proposal.

"We appeal to the government not to force us to do this," they said.

The government is being criticized for promoting what they call "abortion tourism" by offering abortions to women in nations where the practice is illegal. It would be done in much the same which in which pro-euthanasia organizations in Switzerland operate assisted suicide houses where elderly and disabled patients are killed.