Swedish finance minister reflects on past anti-abortion activism

Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson (Moderates) says she likely “hurt more people than I encouraged” with her past anti-abortion rhetoric, according to a new short documentary on SVT Play.

In the 1990s, Svantesson was a prominent figure in the anti-abortion organization “Ja till livet” (Yes to Life), serving as its information secretary and participating in debates, including on SVT. In 1995, at age 27, she stated at a demonstration: “We do not have the right to assault each other, nor to steal. Neither can we have the right to take our children’s lives.”

Today, she supports Sweden’s abortion legislation and describes her views as less “black-and-white” with time. “Oh, how I wish I could have spoken to my younger self,” she says. “I would have said: take it easy, tone it down, and you will change your mind.”

When asked if her younger self would have listened, she replies: “Probably not. But she would have needed it. I didn’t have many people around me back then. I pushed ahead and soon realized this wasn’t right.”

The documentary, titled “Elisabeth Svantesson – is it over?”, follows the minister through a demanding spring, from the corridors of power to the dressing room.