Pro-abortion activists protest outside the legislature in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP
Europe and Washington are gradually diverging on social rights and values. From Europe it seems that the United States is going backwards to a society with values of many decades ago as Europeans continue to advance.
The latest decision by the US Supreme Court allowing states to ban abortion if they wish has been widely welcomed by European political forces as an attack on fundamental rights Women’s. The European Parliament responded on Thursday.
The European Parliament passed a resolution in which condemned “the setback in women’s rights that is gaining ground in the world ”and“ in the rights to sexual and reproductive health in the United States ”.
The resolution also identifies, without naming them, Poland and Malta, member states of the European Union with strict abortion bans.
The resolution was approved by the a clear majority out of 324 votes against, 155 against and 38 abstentions. Virtually all votes against are from conservative MEPs and the far right.
The European Parliament condemned the sentence against abortion in the United States. Photo: AP
The text doesn’t just condemn the US Supreme Court ruling. It also calls on European governments to include the right to abortion in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. They want that text, fundamental element of social rights in European legislation, they provide that “everyone has the right to a safe and legal abortion”.
Message for the United States
The resolution approved this Thursday is also launched a message of support for American women and girls, “as well as those who collaborate in both the provision and defense of the right to abortion and access to legal and safe assistance in cases of abortion in these difficult circumstances”.
MEPs don’t just condemn. They want US President Joe Biden and the US Congress to move to pass a bill “that protects abortion at the federal level.”
As regards Europe, the resolution focuses on two issues. First, MEPs are calling on governments to monitor the money that comes from US anti-abortion organizations to campaign against women’s reproductive rights, gender equality and abortion in general.
The US Supreme Court ruling against the right to abortion has sparked strong protests. Photo: REUTERS
MEPs also call on European governments that still restrict abortion to remove these restrictions, including legal, financial, social regulations and all practical obstacles that still hinder “access to abortion in some Member States”.
The scope of the resolution
The resolution goes further and calls for all of Europe to ensure (because not all Member States do) “prenatal and maternal health care services and supplies, voluntary family planning, contraceptive methods, youth-friendly services, prevention, care, HIV care and support.
As MEPs debated and voted, the speaker of parliament, the Maltese conservative Robert Metsola, felt the unease. His country is one of the most restrictive in Europe in terms of abortion and the issue is taboo for his political class: defending the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy is leaving the electoral landscape.
Brussels, special
CB
Idafe Martin
Source: Clarin
