The dispute over the recent government bill to ban all sex purchases was handled by the Legal Affairs Committee at two meetings on Wednesday. The Committee is to put the bill to a vote today - Thursday.
Before the bill is brought before Parliament, it is likely that it will be amended so that the ban would apply only to cases in which the provider of the services is a victim of pimping or trafficking in humans.
As the restricted ban differs from the government's original proposal to ban all sex purchases, Petri Salo (National Coalition) suggested that the Committee should still consult some experts before making their decision. This would have postponed the bill until the autumn.
At this point the Committee interrupted their meeting in order to negotiate with the government parties.
While some members of the Centre Party supported Salo's proposal, the Committee eventually went on to vote 10-7 in favour of not consulting the experts after all.
At today's meeting Minna Sirnö (Left Alliance) is prepared to propose that the Committee should put forward the government's original bill to ban all sex purchases.
The Legal Affairs Committee is likely to complete its proposal next Tuesday, whereupon it will be put before Parliament on Thursday next week.
