Slovakia adopts the law to recognize only two sexes and restrict adoption

Slovakia has changed its constitution, devoting recognition of the law of only two sexes – men and women.

The legal change, which was adopted during a vote with a knife in Parliament, also restricted adoption to married heterosexual couples and prohibits substitution pregnancies.

The constitutional amendment was defined as consecrating “sovereignty in cultural and ethical matters”.

Critics such as Amnesty International have warned that change would make life more difficult for LGBT people, saying that it brings the legal system to the country of the illiberal government of Hungary or Putin Russia closer.

The support of the amendment parliament surprised the observers, even the Prime Minister conceding until Thursday that Thursday cannot pass.

The government of Fico – a coalition of populist, left and nationalist parties – needed at least 90 votes to the Slovak national council with 150 places to change the constitution, but only controls 78 seats realistically.

However, in the end, 12 opposition deputies voted with the government. The conservative opposition Christian Democrats were expected to support, but several members of the Slovakian movement of former Prime Minister Igor Matovic added their votes at the last minute, based the scales.

Matovic described them as traitors.

The populist-nationalist government argued that the amendment was necessary to protect what it described as “traditional values”.

Prime Minister Robert Fico welcomed the vote and said his party would have a blow of alcohol to celebrate their success. “It is not a small dam, or just an ordinary dam-it is a large dam against progressivism,” he said.

He had previously argued that what he called liberal ideology was to “spread like cancer”.

Slovak legal specialists affirm that a constitutional amendment enshrining the primacy of the Slovak constitution on EU law is a direct challenge to the European Union and will lead to legal battles and potential sanctions.

Some said that this decision was just a Fico scheme to distract the attention of the fall in survey notes and unpopular policies.

“The Slovak constitution was the victim of Robert Fico’s plan to dismantle the opposition and divert the attention of the real problems of the company, as well as the austerity measures he had to pass,” said Beata Balagova, editor -in -chief of Slovak Daily PME, at the BBC.

“Fico does not really care about gender issues, the ban on substitution maternity or even adoptions by LGBTQ people,” she added.

Most of the opposition deputies have remained away from Parliament and progressive Slovakia, which leads the ballot boxes, said that betrayal marked the end of any potential cooperation with Matovic and its party.

President Peter Pellegrini said he would sign the amendment.

“At a time in the enormous division within the Slovak company, a constitutional majority is an important signal that there is an agreement on a specific question throughout the political spectrum, and this must be respected,” he said after the vote.

Robert Fico’s smerous-social democracy party has now moved away from the progressive values ​​adopted by the major public center in Europe that reports indicate that it will be officially expelled from the Party of European Socialists (PES) at a conference next month.

Smer was suspended in 2023 after having formed a coalition with the far -right Slovak National Party.

Since then, Fico has angry European allies by meeting the Vladimir Putin of Russia four times in less than 12 months.

Smergery did not comment on the reports.