A prohibition on surrogacy has been added to the Slovakian constitution after a proposal was passed by a super-majority of the Parliament.

The amendment, which was drafted by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government, required a three-fifths majority. It went through with exactly 90 votes of the 150-seat National Council, that is, three-fifths of the total. Twelve conservative opposition lawmakers helped the ruling coalition win the vote.

The move also authorised adoption for married couples only, with rare exceptions, enshrined the existence of only two genders – male and female, in recognition of biological reality – and established a constitutional guarantee of equal pay for men and women for equal work.

The constitution had already defined marriage as “a unique union between a man and a woman.”