On the eve of the European Parliament’s debate and vote on the possible inclusion of the so-called “right to abortion” in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Commission has registered a new “European Citizens’ Initiative” (an instrument provided for in the treaties) aimed at making abortion “safe and accessible”. The initiative, which goes in the opposite direction compared to another initiative promoted years ago for the defence of unborn life, is called “My Voice, My Choice – For Safe and Accessible Abortion”. The approval of the initiative obviously does not represent the stance or viewpoint of the EU, but authorises the proponents to begin collecting the one million signatures necessary to follow up on this initiative.

Tomorrow, however, MEPs in Brussels could support, in a non-legislative resolution (of political, not legal value), the inclusion of the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. As everyone knowns, France has become the first country to enshrine the right to abortion in its Constitution on 4 March. However, a statement from Parliament points out that “healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health, falls under national powers. Changing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to include abortion would require unanimous agreement from all member states”.

Meanwhile, an initiative by the “Pro Vita & Famiglia” (“Pro-Life and Family”) non-profit organisation continues to spark controversy in the EU circles. Indeed, an ad truck brought the slogan “To Kill a Baby is Not a Fundamental Right” in the streets of Brussels. The slogan is accompanied by a stylised image of a bloody foetus surrounded by the European flag. “With this initiative”, said the spokesperson for the non-profit organisation Jacopo Coghe, “we want to oppose the insane intention of the European Parliament to consecrate the killing of a defenceless child in their mother’s womb as a “fundamental right” and “common value” of the European Union, by inserting this practice into the Charter of Fundamental Rights”. “By sponsoring abortion as a positive social and cultural value in the midst of a frightening demographic crisis, Europe is literally digging its own grave”.