Petsas: I disagree with the bill for same-sex couples and will abstain

Stelios Petsas, ND MP, also expressed his disagreement with the bill on the marriage of same-sex couples, from the floor of the Plenary of the Parliament, who stated, however, that he will choose to abstain from the roll-call vote and not to vote against it.

Mr. Petsas is recorded as the second member of parliament who will abstain from voting on the bill, after Thanos Pleuris, and as the fifth who has openly stated that he disagrees, after Milto Chrysomalli, Anna Karamanlis and Evripidis Stylianidis, who said they would vote against .

Among the reasons cited by Mr. Petsas for his dissent is Article 11 of the bill, which he argued opens a large window on surrogacy, which the government wishes to close the door on – and this is because, after passing of the law, a child obtained by any legal means abroad is automatically recognized at home.

“The ban on surrogacy may lead to the condemnation of Greece”

“It is really an oxymoron to want to ban something, and yet with the draft law to allow it. Moreover, this contradiction is extremely likely to lead to Greece being condemned by the Special Court of Human Rights, as the only criterion for banning surrogacy for same-sex couples in Greece will be the place of birth of a child, which is also underlined in report of the Parliament’s Scientific Service”, he underlined.

Besides, Mr. Petsas stated that he is concerned about any crack in political stability, “which we have conquered with so much effort in recent years, with the possibility of historically high levels of abstention being recorded in the European elections and the strengthening, through an increased protest vote, of disparate and possibly anti-European forces in the next European Parliament”.

In conclusion, he stated that “for legal, bioethical and political reasons, true to my principles and values, as a husband, father and politician I cannot agree with this legislative initiative. But because I support the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the government that restored trust in our country, because a disagreement, even if important, cannot cloud our other policies, which make the lives of Greeks better, but also because I wish the unity of the faction to which I have belonged since I was a small child, I will refrain from the roll-call vote.”

Source: RES-MPE