THE EUROPEAN
WOMEN'S LOBBY IS DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT A NEW ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE WOMEN'S
RIGHTS
The anti-choice European Citizen’s
Initiative "One of Us" was presented in a public hearing to the
European Parliament and the European Commission this week
[Brussels,
10 April 2014] The European citizen’s initiative "One of us", calling
to protect the "dignity" of the embryo, was presented today in a
Public Hearing in the European Parliament. This initiative, which has collected
more than 1.700 thousand signatures, requests “the prohibition of EU financing
of activities which involve the destruction of human embryos, especially in the
areas of research, development cooperation and public health.” It calls on the
European Union to prohibit EU from “directly or indirectly” funding abortion
services in developing countries by banning funding to organisations that
“encourage or promote abortion”. The European Women’s Lobby is deeply concerned
about this new attempt to undermine women’s rights and especially women’s
sexual and reproductive rights and advance the anti-choice agenda. Furthermore,
the consequences that this initiative could have on the lives and health of
millions of women around the world are unacceptable.
During the hearing, the
organisers of the European Citizen’s initiative "One of
us" explained how their understanding and moral opinion about the
"dignity of the embryo" lead them to do two requests: to stop funding
research activities that destroys human embryos or that presumes their
destruction; and to ban EU Development Aid that can “directly or indirectly”
fund abortion services in developing countries by banning funding to
organisations that “encourage or promote abortion”.
Teresa Riera MEP (Spain,
S&D) expressed the opinion of the ITRE Committee of the European Parliament
(Industry, Research and Energy) regarding the initiative. She clarified that the
EU Framework Programme for Research and Inovation Horizon2020
has been carefully debated and considered the agreement reached in 2007 has to
be maintained for the future. She informed that research activities on human
embryos are strictly regulated by the European Union and are object of numerous
safeguards. Furthermore, the EU does fund this type of research only for
countries which allow these research activities and only after going through very
strict ethical and scientific committees. Ms. Riera also explained that the
legal basis presumed by the organisers of the European Initiative is not
complete.
The EU gives funding only to research activities
involving existing human embryonic stem cells lines derived from 7-days-old
leftover embryos from assisted reproduction which are granted by couples for
research and which would be destroyed otherwise.. This is a
research area which has a huge potential in the treatment of a number of
degenerative diseases being crucial for every citizen’s health (e.g. heart
failures, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s).
From the European Commission,
which at this stage is in a listening mood but who will have to reply to this
initiative by the end of May, remarked all the safeguards concerning this type
of research and its full respect with the legislation in place.
After the first panel on
Research, a very heated debate took place and very much centred on abortion.
The organisers of the initiative explained "Contraception and abortion
breaks the family: the basis of the society". MEP Sophia in’ t Veldt (Alde,
Netherlands) and MEP Ulrike Lunacek
(Greens, Austria)
stressed that this is a matter of women’s rights. That the debate about the
dignity of the embryo is not a legal debate is a moral debate. Ms. In’ t Veldt
asked about the dignity of millions of people who believe in science and about
the millions of women who will be abandoned to unsafe abortion. MEP Ana Gomes
(S&D, Portugal) asked the
organisers of the Initiative about their links with extremist religious
organisations in the US and inquired
if this initiative is an attempt to replicate the US
Mexico city policy- which had chilling
consequences.
Despite the several attempts from
the organisers to impede his intervention, Michael Cashman (S&D,
UK) expressed the opinion
of DEVE Committee in the European Parliament. He said that this initiative
would concern a large range of sexual and reproductive health and rights
programmes and services. These agencies also provide essential maternal health
services such as family planning, pre-natal health care and are necessary in
the fight against maternal death (About 800 women die every day in the world
during pregnancy and childbirth). He mentioned that the EU development policy
is in line with International Agreements and such as El Cairo International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and stressed EU’s commitment to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including maternal health (MDG5).
Markus Cornaro, Deputy
Director-General, DG Development and Cooperation, European Commission, insisted
on the accountability and transparency of all and every EU funded activities
and insisted that all activities are in line with the international agreements
such as the Millennium Development Goals.
The President of the European
Women’s Lobby (EWL), Ms. Viviane Teitelbaum, was present at the hearing together with other
European NGOs working on Sexual and reproductive health and rights IPPF-EN,
EPF, DSW, EHF, MSI. More than 20 Civil society organisations have sent a letter to the European Commission urging
to maintain strong SRHR commitment.
The EWL is deeply concerned about
this new attempt to undermine women’s rights and especially women’s sexual and
reproductive rights and advance the anti-choice agenda. The agenda of the
organisers of this initiative is transparent and clear: they aim at imposing a
conservative definition of the embryo in order to ban the right to abortion.
The “One of Us” initiative is not
a pro-life posture; it is an open threat against women’s rights and against the
basic human’s right to live in dignity. It is an attempt to impose their
beliefs about the embryo in Europe and abroad and no
matter at what cost. They don’t care about life when they know that calling the
EU to stop all the funding on maternal health will have dramatic consequences
and will put at risk women’s lives and health. Moreover, the legislations in
these countries in which abortion is safe and legal, are based on scientific
analysis of the viability of the foetus. Therefore, it is not a matter of
beliefs.
Furthermore, this initiative is
in total opposition with International Agreements such as El Cairo Conference
on Population and Development and the EU’s commitment to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, including maternal health (MDG5). Such a ban would threaten
existing achievements in the field of maternal and reproductive health: the
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of
Action has contributed to fewer women dying in pregnancy and childbirth;
skilled birth attendance has increased by 15 per cent worldwide since 1990;
more women now have access to education, work and political participation; more
children are going to school, and fewer adolescent girls are having babies .
As several studies of the World
Health Organization (WHO) restriction on abortion has never prevented women
from choosing whether or not to continue a pregnancy: it merely resulted in
doing so at greater risks in clandestine and unsafe abortion practices.
The only proven way to diminish
abortion is to provide information on sexuality and contraception.
This is why the EWL calls on:
- The
Commission to refuse to act on this initiative, which would put the health
and lives of millions at risk.
- The
European Commission to keep their funds for development towards improving
maternal health sector in developing countries.
- And
the European Union to reaffirm their support to gender equality and
women’s rights.
This is a matter of gender equality:
women cannot be considered equal to men if they are not able to take their own
informed decisions about their lives.
Read more:
- European
Humanist Federation Explaination of the Reality of the "One of
Us" Initiative: http://humanistfederation.eu/news-fhe.php?pages=meps-and-ngos-sound-the-alarm-on-anti-choice-threat-to-maternal-health
- EPF:
“Behind
the ECI one of us”, Intelligence Brief Autumn 2013, issue
8. Background document.
- IPPF-EN:
Legal analysis of the ECI "One of Us".
- "Statement Supporting Funding for Stem Cell and
Reproductive Health Research in Europe 2014"
- President of S&D MEP Swoboda denounces "One
of us" Citizens Initiative: "Initiative risks health and
lives"
- GUE-NGL,
Commission must resist far-right backed Citizens’
Initiative on abortion.
- Devex
Opinion article "Women’s future under
threat" by Sophie in ’t Veld MEP (Netherlands)
and Petra Bayr MP (Austria).
- Eu
Observer, Controversy over citizens’ initiative on abortion
funding ban.
- Europolitics,"MEPs discuss ’One of us’ petition. Signatories
are calling to put a stop to EU funding for activities that involve the
destruction of human embryos"-* RTE News,
Ireland: EU urged to maintain stem cell research funding.
- New
York Times, European Union Debates Initiative on Embryo
Protection.
- El
Pais (in Spanish), 1,7 millones de firmas piden a Bruselas que frene
cualquier ayuda al aborto.
- AlterEchos
(in French), One of us : Débat animé au sujet de l’embryon.