Swiss court ruling: only mothers have legal say in abortion cases

Switzerland’s highest court has ruled against the father of an unborn child, who had sued his ex-partner for terminating pregnancy at an advanced stage. Abortions are legal in Switzerland if they take place in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. If a woman has an abortion later, she is punished with up to three years in prison – unless she was deemed to be in an emergency situation. After a man from the Swiss canton of Fribourg reported his ex-girlfriend for a late-term abortion, the public prosecutor’s office dropped the case as doctors confirmed that the women was in a state of psychological distress. The man however fought this case up to the level of the Federal Court. He was of the opinion that, as the father of the unborn foetus, he was a “victim” under the definition of the law. + How Swiss abortion rights compare internationally The highest Swiss court sees things differently: it states that the ban on late-term abortions protects the unborn child, not the man involved.