Friday

29th Mar 2024

Parliament fails to pass report on women's reproductive rights

  • Reproductive and health rights are a national issue, say conservative MEPs (Photo: Wikipedia)

The European Parliament erupted in internal bickering on Tuesday (10 December) after an alliance of right-wing MEPs managed to sweep a report on sexual and reproductive rights for women from the table.

The report by Portuguese Social Democrat MEP Edite Estrela puts such rights on a par with other human rights and speaks of the "problematic reality" of teenage pregnancies, the importance of making contraception widely available, of comprehensive "non-judgemental" sexuality education and of "quality family planning services."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

It also says that "women have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, timing and spacing of their children" and underlines the importance of safe abortions.

Estrela summed up the report as being about giving everybody the right to make "their own informed and responsible choices on their sexual and reproductive life."

However, controversy has long being brewing over the document, even though it is non-binding.

It was approved by a strong majority in the gender equality committee in September. But the following month, MEPs narrowly voted to send it back to the committee for a rethink.

The committee made few changes and resubmitted it for plenary vote.

But Tuesday saw MEPs narrowly vote in favour (334 to 327) of a counter resolution by an alliance of conservative, eurosceptic and far-right deputies.

Their resolution said the entire debate was an issue to be dealt with at the national level. Their successful bid meant that the Estrela report fell. The result was greeted by catcalls and jeering from the right in the house.

Estrela said the alliance had opened a "new front against the EU's founding principles of human dignity, freedom, equality and non-discrimination."

Hannes Swoboda, leader of the Socialists, said conservatives were "throwing away many years of progress on women's rights" and condemned the "misleading and demagogical campaign" against the report.

Corinne Lepage, a French Liberal MEP, tweeted: "I invite all women to look at who vote what on their rights and freedoms and with whom their shared their votes."

Austrian Green MEP Ulrike Lunacek said the centre-right had brought "shame" on the parliament and criticized the "ugly scenes" surrounding the vote.

She added that "contrary to the claims of those lobbying against it" the report "did not seek to impose a universal view on pregnancy termination, other than that where it is provided, it should be safe."

Dutch liberal MEP Sophie in't Veld said Tuesday's events illustrated that the European Parliament was no longer the focus just for big business lobbying - such as tobacco firms - but also for social and rights issues.

"The conservative religious lobby has found us too," she said.

Ukraine slams grain trade restrictions at EU summit

Restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU could translate into military losses in their bid to stop Russia's war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned EU leaders during their summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Difficult talks ahead on financing new EU defence spending

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending any time soon, EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 March) to discuss how to boost the defence capabilities of Ukraine and of the bloc itself.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us