Georgian parliament to discuss abortion ban (UPDATE)
Georgia's Parliamentary Committee on Health and Social Affairs will discuss the initiative of the Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II to ban abortion.
Selective abortions should be banned, the committee chairman Dmitry Khundadze said.
"With regard to the prohibition of abortion in general, it is not acceptable as the number of illegal abortions will increase immediately," he said.
Khundadze also said an expanded discussion should be held on this subject. The first such discussion with the participation of experts will be held by the Committee on Health and Social Affairs, he said.
Georgian Patriarch Ilia II has called on the Georgian authorities to ban abortion in the country by passing new legislation. According to Ilia II, such a decision should be taken in view of the difficult demographic situation in the country.
Prohibition of abortion is not the only way to change the demographic situation in the country, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said.
First of all, it is necessary to solve other major problems, including improvement of the economic situation and social conditions of families, he told reporters.
"Families should have more opportunities, they have to live better, and the state should take care of them," Ivanishvili said.