MEPs urge the Council to incorporate sexual and reproductive healthcare and the right to safe and legal abortion into the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday by 336 votes in favour, 163 against and 39 abstentions, the House calls for enshrining abortion rights in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, a request they have made several times. MEPs condemn the rollback of women’s rights and all attempts to restrict or remove existing protections for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender equality globally, including in EU Member States.
They call for amending Article 3 of the Charter to state that “everyone has the right to physical autonomy and to free, informed, full and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights and all related health services, including access to safe and legal abortion, without discrimination”.
The text urges Member States to fully decriminalise abortion in line with the WHO 2022 guidelines, and to remove and combat obstacles to abortion. Parliament calls on the authorities in Poland and Malta to repeal their laws and other measures prohibiting and restricting abortion. MEPs condemn the refusal of doctors in some Member States to perform abortions, in some cases by entire medical institutions, on the basis of a “conscience” clause. They regret that this clause is often used in situations where any delay would endanger the life or health of the patient.
European Commission: Gender Equality Strategy |
High-quality education and care
Abortion methods and procedures should be a compulsory part of the curriculum for doctors and medical students, Parliament stresses. Member States must ensure access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health and rights services, including age-appropriate sexuality and affective education. Accessible, safe and free contraceptive methods and supplies, as well as family planning counselling, should be made available, with special attention to vulnerable groups.
MEPs recall that women in poverty face greater legal, financial, social and practical barriers and restrictions to abortion and urge Member States to remove them.
Stop EU funding to anti-choice groups
MEPs are concerned about the significant increase in funding for anti-choice and anti-abortion groups around the world, including in the EU. They call on the Commission to ensure that organisations working against gender equality and women’s rights, including reproductive rights, do not receive EU funding. The text also insists that Member States and local authorities should increase spending on health and family planning programmes and services.
Context
France became the first country to enshrine the right to abortion in its Constitution on 4 March 2024. Health care, including sexual and reproductive health, is a national competence. Changing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to include abortion would require unanimous agreement of all Member States.
More information: European Parliament
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