Slovakia is pushing forward with sweeping constitutional amendments that could significantly restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people and access to reproductive healthcare.
On Wednesday, Slovak lawmakers voted in favour of advancing a set of proposed changes that would, if enacted, limit adoption rights exclusively to heterosexual married couples and legally define gender strictly as male or female. The move is part of a broader effort to enshrine socially conservative values into the country’s constitution.
Currently, Slovakia does not recognise same-sex relationships in any legal form. A 2014 constitutional amendment already defined marriage as “a unique union between a man and a woman.” However, under current legislation, individuals, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation, may adopt children.
The new proposals go further by seeking to block nonbinary recognition altogether. According to Amnesty International, Slovakia does not currently acknowledge nonbinary identities, and the amendments would cement this lack of recognition into the constitution, making it significantly harder to reverse in the future.
Additional amendments tabled include provisions to allow healthcare workers to refuse to perform abortions on the basis of personal conscience, mandatory parental consent for sex education in schools, reduced gestational limits for legal abortions, and potential bans on both in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and surrogacy.
“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,” said Rado Sloboda, Director of Amnesty International Slovakia.
“Constitutionalising the possibility to refuse abortion care on ‘conscientious objection’ grounds would put people’s health and lives at grave risk,” Sloboda warned. “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.”
The initial reading passed with support from 81 members of parliament, but at least 90 votes are needed in the next round for the changes to proceed. Slovakia’s National Council is comprised of 150 members.
Slovakia, a member of the European Union, could face increased scrutiny or legal pushback from the EU should the amendments clash with the bloc’s human rights protections.
Prime Minister Robert Fico, who returned to office in 2023 under the left-nationalist Direction – Social Democracy party, has promoted a socially conservative agenda since resuming power.
