Bill on reproductive health is defective, CAPC

The Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption (CAPC) considers that the bill on reproductive health proposed by a group of MPs is defective. Experts of the Center said a bill with amendments to a similar law that was adopted in 2001 would be more justified, Info-Prim Neo reports. CAPC expert Marina Kalughin told a news conference that according to the informative note to the bill, it was drafted with the aim of regulating all the situations that appear in the area of reproductive health. According to the Center, the bill will not achieve its aim because it is not economically and financially substantiated. Marina Kalughin said the bill includes no analysis of the possible regulation impact though reproductive health services can be provided both by public medical institutions and private ones. “We consider that an economic-financial analysis is imperatively necessary. It is very important to know if the state assumes the responsibility of covering the costs of these services,” she stated. Another factor that makes such an analysis necessary is the ensuring by the state of the education of young people in this respect, which also implies investments. As to the corruption risks, Marina Kalughin said the bill does not include clear criteria for licensing the private medical institutions, but contains norms that create a certain conflict of interests in the supervision activity, especially for the Ministry of Health. The experts stressed that the bill was also formulated with linguistic mistakes as there were ignored essential rules. The CAPC examined the bill within the project “Assessment of Corruption Risks of Normative and Legislative Acts – Stage V” that is supported financially by the Civil Rights Defenders of Sweden and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The bill on reproductive health was passed in the first reading and was included in the agenda of the May 24 sitting of Parliament.