BRUSSELS – The European Parliament has adopted a resolution supporting the „My voice, my choice“ initiative, which aims to facilitate access to abortion in the European Union. The document has no legal force, but – as emphasised by bishops from EU member states – it violates the principle of subsidiarity and undermines the protection of life from the moment of conception.
The resolution concerns the European citizens„ initiative “My voice, my choice„, which was signed by more than a million people in 27 EU countries. It envisages support – including financial support – for women who wish to have an abortion, including through travel to another EU country if access to abortion is restricted in their own country. The European Parliament also supported an amendment calling for the inclusion of the “right to abortion" in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. At the same time, an alternative resolution reminding that abortion and reproductive health policy falls within the exclusive competence of Member States was rejected.
COMECE voice: Avoid interference in Member States' competences
Before the vote, the Commission of the Bishops„ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) expressed “serious concerns about the overall objective of this initiative„. The bishops called on MEPs to “avoid further tensions within the European Union and to vote responsibly, taking into account the current division of powers between the EU and Member States in the area of abortion".
COMECE recalled the Church's teaching that „human life must be unconditionally respected and protected from the moment of conception“ and that „direct abortion, that is to say, abortion intended as an end or as a means, is gravely contrary to moral law“. According to the bishops, the current debate is taking place in a „highly polarised context“ in which there are „attempts to circumvent national competences and the principle of subsidiarity for ideological reasons“.
Women need help other than facilitating abortion
EU bishops emphasise that women in difficult situations „need forms of support other than those proposed by this and similar initiatives, which aim to facilitate abortion“. As COMECE emphasises, the public debate requires „prudent policies that truly protect and support women while also protecting the human life of unborn children“.
The European Parliament's resolution is not binding, but – as the bishops note – its adoption has considerable political significance in the context of future decisions by the Commission and the Council of the EU.
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