Finnish foreign minister survives no confidence vote over anti-abortion views

Finnish foreign minister survives no confidence vote over anti-abortion views
Finland's Foreign Minister Timo Soini attends a joint news conference with Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (unseen) in Vantaa, Finland August 14, 2018. LEHTIKUVA/Vesa Moilanen/via REUTERS Copyright Lehtikuva Lehtikuva(Reuters)
Copyright Lehtikuva Lehtikuva(Reuters)
By Reuters
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HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Friday over his attendance at an anti-abortion vigil while on an official trip to Canada.

One hundred lawmakers voted in support of Soini, while 60 voted to oust him. The motion was brought by four opposition parties.

Most members of the three parties in the government supported Soini as toppling him would have brought down the coalition.

Finland has been a pioneer in gender equality. Its law allows abortion and the government is committed to promoting women's rights in its foreign and security policy.

(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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