Promoted by the ECR group at the European Parliament. The views belong to the sponsor.
The European Parliament is about to stage a regrettable chapter in the history of the European Union. The so-called “Matić Report” intends to make free abortions a fundamental right.
The name of this Croatian socialist politician might forever be linked to this radical course which neither Schuman nor Adenauer, Monet or De Gasperi could have ever imagined. They dreamt of a Europe fostering cooperation and peace. Instead, this report will only channel division, aggression and conflict.
Unfortunately, one can anticipate the devastating effects this document will have, should the majority in Parliament approve it on June 24, when it will be put to the vote.
The leftist side of the chamber are aligned in favour of this initiative, knowing full well that this report is their opportunity to impose their agenda continent-wide from the EU capital. As a Conservative MEP, I'd like to remind all different stakeholders that this is a national competence. They justify that the EU should not overreach its mandate, as it would constitute an abuse of power that European citizens would very much deplore. Between the two sides is the centrist EPP party, the largest force in this legislature. Their group stands divided and will show on this occasion whether it allows for an abortionist victory in Europe or whether it shall defend the balance that has existed until now.
There are few issues as controversial as abortion, which is why the matter has always been reserved as a remit of the member states rather than the EU institutions. What is the point of igniting dispute in an organisation that seeks common values?
Even if there were an arithmetical victory on behalf of the report’s authors, this would only create reasons for pro-lifers to generate a profound dislike towards the Union and its imposition of a one-size-fits-all approach. For less than that, the United Kingdom left the club.
Moreover, abortion has already been decriminalised and regulated in many countries in order to be kept within limits and hopefully reduced, as proclaimed by the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that the European Convention on Human Rights “cannot be interpreted as conferring a right to abortion”. And yet, the Matić Report pretends that abortion is not only a right but a fundamental right.
The fact that the current United Nations trend is somewhat favourable to this new view does not make it more democratic. The people do not elect UN officials, and the drift that the organisation and its satellite agencies have taken in the last decade is difficult to explain in terms of its goals and authors.
But, in any case, international treaties have never recognised a human right to abortion. Human rights deserve a connection to human nature as well as a broad consensus. This consensus does not exist, either at the national or the international level, in referral to the voluntary termination of life in the mother's womb. And it will probably never exist - life, hope and maternity will likely always share a consensus deeply rooted in our hearts.
The dramatic interruption of a new baby’s course leading to birth raises the voice of many that think this is not the way, particularly when there are alternatives.
Furthermore, the report does not stop at abortion but minimises the right of doctors and medical personnel to conscientious objection. This invasion in Europe of the inner forum of the individual is unheard of and sends our civilisation centuries back. All must consider the human conscience as a sanctuary for freedom, where the state cannot and must not interfere. Subjecting the health profession to such an attack is totalitarian aggression and lacks respect. Regardless of one's political views, this is something nobody should tolerate.
Finally, the unilateral perspective of the Matić report has also contaminated education. New generations of children, youngsters, and professionals will be indoctrinated with this ideology of death launched by certain bureaucrats and activists. Again, the Western world deserves better. It is the parents who have the right and duty to instil their values in their children, not the state. Ideological indoctrination is a practice used by multiple dictators throughout history. Yet, thankfully their reigns of terror, despite the suffering they have caused, typically end with society breaking free of their chains.
European countries are sovereign, allowing them to decide what their respective education systems should teach. The member states do not need to be told what they can teach by an elite in the heart of Belgium and their minions. Otherwise, the very motto of the Union, “united in diversity,” would be turned into a bad joke.
By MEP Margarita de la Pisa Carrión, European Conservatives and Reformists Group
