Judgment, 28 September 1988.

Abstract

The Court of Appeal of Brussels affirmed the decision of the lower court convicting the defendant of illegally performing an abortion. It rejected on three grounds his argument that he performed the abortion in accordance with the sections of a Decree of the Council of the French Community providing that medical personnel in centers for sexual, marital, and family assistance and information were required to furnish women in distress with the necessary medical and technical assistance with respect to recourse to contraceptive methods. It ruled that 1) because the defendant was not employed in a specialized and approved institution subject to the decrees of the Council of the French Community, he could not rely on the Decree in question; 2) the Decree did not repeal directly or indirectly the provisions of the Penal Code prohibiting abortion; and 3) the defendant could not rely on a Decree that was enacted 6 months after the abortion had been performed. In the context of a different abortion case, the Court of Appeal of Brussels on 7 December 1988 referred to the Court of Arbitration the question of whether the Council of the French Community exceeded its powers in enacting the Decree in question because of its conflict with the abortion provisions of the Penal Code. See Revue de jurisprudence de Liege, Mons et Bruxelles, No. 4, 27 January 1989, pp. 106.