Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis responded by rejecting any suggestion of revisiting the issue. “We are not going back. The river does not turn back,” he said, adding that every woman and every person is responsible for defining their own body. He stressed that the issue is settled and should not be reopened.

SYRIZA strongly criticised Karystianou’s position. In a statement by its Equality and Rights Sector, the party described the remarks as “deeply political and dangerous”, arguing that questioning abortion rights echoes obscurantist and extreme conservative ideologies. The statement underlined that abortion has been legal in Greece since 1986 and is recognised across Europe as a fundamental right, won through decades of feminist struggles. It added that human rights are not subject to referendums or public consultations. The statement was signed by Elena Akrita.

PASOK also rejected the idea of reopening the issue. In its statement, PASOK recalled that the government of Andreas Papandreou established the right to safe abortion with Law 1609/1986, stressing that access to abortion is an inalienable right. PASOK MP Pavlos Christidis wrote that women decide about their bodies and their lives, adding that society needs more rights, not fewer.

From the New Left, MP Efi Achtsioglou described Karystianou’s statements as problematic on four grounds. She said they call into question women’s right to self-determination, ignore the dangers posed by the illegality of abortion, confuse public consultation with fundamental rights, and falsely suggest a legal conflict between women’s rights and the protection of life. New Left secretary Gabriel Sakellaridis added that rights and the rule of law cannot be defended selectively, warning that reopening the abortion debate aligns with international far-right efforts to restrict reproductive rights.

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) also intervened, stating that women’s right to legal and safe abortion is non-negotiable and not subject to public consultation. In a statement by the party’s Central Committee Department for the Equality and Emancipation of Women, the KKE argued that questioning this right reveals reactionary and conservative positions, stressing that it must be safeguarded alongside full scientific and social support within a public and free healthcare system.

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