Pro-lifers in the European Parliament scored a major victory yesterday after MEPs voted to send a pro-abortion report back to further committee.
The report called for making abortion a human right and was drafted by the Portuguese MEP Edite Estrela, member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, but was returned for further work to the committee of Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.
The report, drafted under the indication of the pro-choice lobby International Planned Parenthood Federation, asked for a European Parliament resolution on the accessibility to abortion as a human right and public health concern making it “legal, safe, and accessible to all” and stating that “it is essential for individual, social and economic development that women have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, timing and spacing of their children”.
The report exposed data on adolescent birth rates and on unwanted pregnancies showing that in many countries where abortion is not permitted women are obliged to “travel to other MS to have an abortion”, so, she said, “it is evident that the ban on abortion does not encourage decreasing its rate”.
Moreover, MsEstrela stated that the focus on family policies to face the demographic crisis is spreading the idea that permitting abortion would be a factor of population decrease whereas a ban on it would increase births. The report said “the birth rate in Europe would certainly be more efficiently supported by the improvement of the possibilities for mothers and fathers to better balance their private and professional lives”.
The Estrela report included also requests about comprehension sexuality education and stressed that “this information covers a variety of modern methods of family planning and counseling, skilled birth attendance, and the right to access gynecological and obstetric emergency care, and that it is non- judgmental and scientifically accurate about abortion services”.
Moreover, it stressed the importance to teach about negative stereotypes towards gays and lesvians because it’s necessary to “shed light on gender and sexual orientation discrimination, and structural barriers to substantive equality, as well as emphasize mutual respect and shared responsibility”.
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