Members of the EU Parliament want to anchor the right to abortion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, this would require unanimity from all 27 member states. The prospects for this are slim.
The European Union Parliament has voted to include the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. A majority of 336 MPs voted in favor of a corresponding resolution, 163 voted against and 39 abstained.
MEPs are calling on EU member states to include the right to physical self-determination in the Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in 2000. This includes free, informed, comprehensive and universal access to sexual and reproductive health – including safe and legal abortions.
Abortions should therefore become a mandatory part of medical studies in all EU countries. Poorer people in particular must be given access to contraceptives and family counseling, the application continues. The changes would require unanimity among the EU member states – Parliament’s request is not binding.
German support for resolution
The proposal was put forward by MPs from the Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and Left, as well as some Swedish parliamentarians who belong to the conservative Christian Democratic group of the European People’s Party (EPP). A counter-proposal from the EPP, which refers to the responsibility of the individual member states and calls for more support for pregnant women and mothers, was unable to prevail.
The German supporters of the resolution include Katarina Barley (SPD) and Terry Reintke (Greens). Both are top candidates in the upcoming European elections. “The fundamental right to abortion is not only being restricted on the other side of the Atlantic, women’s right to legal and safe abortion is also in jeopardy in the EU,” explained Reintke after the vote. It is high time to follow France’s example and establish the right to abortion throughout the EU.
In the resolution, the MPs particularly condemned Poland and Malta for their laws that massively restrict abortions.
Right to abortion in France
French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, announced at the beginning of the French EU Council Presidency in January 2022 that access to abortion would be enshrined in the charter. In March, France became the first country in the world to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution.
The Polish parliament is also currently considering liberalizing abortion rights. The legislation there is currently one of the strictest in the EU. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised to strengthen women’s rights and make it easier to access abortion.
“Every Polish woman will be able to decide for herself about her motherhood,” Tusk promised in the fall. But in the almost five months that he has been governing the country, this central project has not yet made any progress.
Catholic bishops against the plan
The interest group of the Catholic bishops in Brussels had previously criticized the EU MPs’ move. The right to life is the cornerstone of all other human rights, said the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences (COMECE). Facilitating abortion also goes in an “opposite direction to the real promotion of women and their rights”.
Low Chances of success
Adding a new fundamental right to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is very difficult. The change would, among other things, require unanimity among the 27 member states. Health care, including sexual and reproductive health, is also the responsibility of individual states.
Kathrin Schmid, ARD Brussels, tagesschau, April 11, 2024 3:18 p.m