Majority in favor

EU Parliament demands abortion as a fundamental right

The current project follows on from earlier initiatives.(Bild: parilov)

The EU Parliament has spoken out in favor of including a right to abortion in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. 336 MEPs voted in favor of a corresponding resolution in Brussels on Thursday, 163 against; 39 abstained. 

The project follows on from previous initiatives. Among others, French President Emmanuel Macron announced this at the beginning of the French EU Council Presidency in January 2022.

Right to self-determination in the Charter of Fundamental Rights?
In the resolution, MEPs call on EU member states to include the right to bodily self-determination and to free, informed, comprehensive and universal access to sexual and reproductive health, including safe and legal abortion, in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which was adopted in 2000.

This would require a unanimous amendment to the EU treaties. The likelihood of this happening is low.

Completely decriminalize abortion 
The resolution also calls on EU member states to fully decriminalize abortion in line with the 2022 WHO guidelines and to remove obstacles to safe and legal abortion. In particular, MEPs made an urgent appeal to Poland and Malta to repeal their restrictive laws. France, on the other hand, was the first EU country to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution at the beginning of March (see video above).

Right to life is the cornerstone of all human rights
The proposal was tabled by members of the Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and Left as well as some Swedish parliamentarians. The lobby of the Catholic bishops in Brussels had criticized the parliamentarians' initiative in advance. The right to life is the cornerstone of all other human rights, they explained.