The council voted on the recommendations by the committee, with 58 members in favor of the amendments and 64 in opposition.

Shoura Council members were divided on the issue of birth control on Tuesday during a vote on a draft law on population development issued by the Ministry of Economy and Planning.

The council’s committee on economic affairs and energy had called for the deletion of the phrase “reduce the total fertility rate by encouraging spacing between deliveries,” and replacing the term “reproductive health” with “mother and child” throughout the document.

The council voted on the recommendations by the committee, with 58 members in favor of the amendments and 64 in opposition.

In a subsequent vote on the original document proposed by the government, 70 members voted in favor while 50 opposed them. However, the vote failed to achieve the minimum 76 votes to ensure approval.

Seventy-two members voted in favor of Article 26 of the council’s bylaws, which calls for returning the document to the committee for further study. Council member, Hamda Al-Anzi, said voting was required on all individual changes made by the committee.

 
[wpResize]