‘Members of the Slovak Parliament must vote to reject this multi-pronged assault on human rights’ - Rado Sloboda

Amendments to the Constitution of Slovakia to recognise only two sexes - male and female - and limit adoption to only married heterosexual couples, would have a devastating impact on the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, said Amnesty International ahead of an expected debate and vote in the Slovak parliament. 

Rado Sloboda, Director of Amnesty International Slovakia, said:

“This swathe of amendments is an attempt to buttress an increasingly hostile environment for LGBTIQ+ people, undermine gender equality, rule of law and broader human rights protections in Slovakia. Constitutionalising the possibility to refuse abortion care on ‘conscientious objection’ grounds would put peoples’ health and lives at grave risk.

“If passed, these draconian measures would further undermine gender equality and deepen the crackdown on LGBTIQ+ people’s rights, mirroring the dangerous practices of other countries in the region, such as Hungary and Poland. Members of the Slovak Parliament must vote to reject this multi-pronged assault on human rights.” 

Devastating blow to gender rights

The battery of proposed amendments would also restrict access to reproductive health by allowing refusal of abortion care by health professionals on the grounds of “conscience”, denying pregnant people safe and timely abortions and mandate parental approval on comprehensive sexuality education in schools. This would restrict children’s access to information necessary for sexual violence prevention, education about consent, and sexual and reproductive health, for example. 

Slovak legislation already does not recognise “gender” and “gender identity”, acknowledges only two sexes and fails to recognise the existence of intersex people. The amendments to the Constitution would make any future progressive change of current legislation and legal acknowledgment of intersex and non-binary people more complicated, if not impossible. It could also restrict legal gender recognition rights of transgender people.

The amendments would also see Slovak legislation take precedence over international law in what the proponents of the amendments call “cultural and ethical issues”. These could relate to marriage, family life, parenting, and related matters in the fields of health, science, education, and personal status.   

Part of a larger rollback on rights

The debate and vote on these constitutional amendments come alongside other attempts by authorities to rollback rights in Slovakia. Another bill that would lower gestational limits for abortion is also pending.  

The amendments would also ban "agreements to procreate children or carry pregnancies for the benefit of others" and "the creation of human embryos for research and therapeutic purposes," which would limit access to surrogacy and in-vitro fertilisation.  

In May 2023, the Slovak parliament voted to make legal gender recognition impossible.

A bill on NGOs and ‘foreign funding’ is also currently being debated in Parliament.