EU Parliament: «Abortion among fundamental rights»

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The European Parliament supports the universal right to abortion and calls for it to be added to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The battle that began last March in Paris, with the inclusion of the right to abortion in the French Constitution, has therefore spread to the whole of Europe and finds in the European Chamber a majority made up of Leftists, Socialists, Greens and Liberals, who were joined by a delegation of around 40 EPP MEPs, who voted for the resolution in dissent compared to the rest of the group. At the end of the vote there were 336 votes in favour, 163 against and 39 abstentions.

The governing majority in Italy has almost entirely sided against the European protection of the right to abortion, with some defections. Forza Italia MEPs Lucia Vuolo and Alessandra Mussolini voted in support of the text, unlike their Italian colleagues Lara Comi, Salvatore De Meo and Lucia Zambelli (the others were absent). Only one defection in the League, that of Gianna Gancia. The Fdi delegation was solidly opposed. On the other side of the chamber, Socialists, Greens, Terzo Polo and M5s were in favour. In the resolution approved with 336 votes in favor, 163 against and 39 abstentions, the European Chamber also raised the bar on conscientious objection.

The text condemns the fact that in some Member States abortion is denied by doctors, and in some cases by entire medical institutions, on the basis of a “conscientious objection” clause; in some situations “any delays endanger the patient’s life”. Crackdown also against “anti-abortion propaganda”: the European Parliament says it is concerned about the significant increase in funding to so-called Pro-Life organizations around the world and asks the EU Commission to guarantee that “the organizations that work against gender equality and women’s rights, including reproductive rights, do not receive funding from the EU.” This is another piece of a text that Fdi has defined as “a disturbing indicator of what social project the left has in mind for the future of Europe”.