It is not the first time that the European Parliament call to order USA asking for guarantees legal and safe access to abortion. He did it eight months ago in a resolution adopted by a large majority, in which he demanded the immediate repeal of the anti-abortion legislation of the State of Texas, and he did it again this Thursday, when the debate has resurfaced on the other side of the Atlantic , in a motion condemning the setbacks in sexual and reproductive health and rights of women around the world, including the United States, and calls for respect for a 1973 US Supreme Court ruling – the Roe v. Wade case – that grants constitutional protection to the right to abortion throughout the country and that could be revoked by overthrowing the constitutional protection and returning the power to say to the states.
The text, approved by a large majority of 364 votes in favour, 154 against and 37 abstentions supported by social democrats, liberals, greens and the left, recalls that unsafe abortion is the leading, yet preventable, cause of maternal death and morbidity and that lack of access to safe and legal abortion services is a critical issue for public health and human rights. “Banning abortion and thus forcing women to resort to unsafe and clandestine abortions would lead to increased mortality,” she notes.
Hence, the support for the US Supreme Court ruling of 1973, later confirmed by other decisions, and the voice of alarm about the possible regression that it could entail. “President (Joe) Biden said that if that ruling were reversed it would be a very serious blow to reproductive rights. The consequences would be radical not only for the United States but globally. It would increase the number of unsafe abortions. And , according to the WHO, almost 45% of all abortions are unsafe”, warned during the debate held by the plenary session of the European Parliament the vice-president of the Executive, Valdis Domvrovskis.
federal protection
The motion of the Europarliament not only encourages Joe Biden and the Democratic Administration to redouble efforts to ensure access to safe and legal abortion, fully decriminalize abortion, and guarantee “adequate federal, constitutional, and statutory protection.” He also asks again texas governmentled by the Republican Party, to immediately repeal State Senate Bill 8 that prohibits abortion after approximately six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or incompatible fetal health with sustained survival after delivery.
In fact, recalls a recital, it was the US Supreme Court that allowed the law to enter into force and Texas to elude judicial review of its constitutionality by allowing public officials to refrain from enforcing the law and creating a legal path for citizens, with a $10,000 reward, they will sue anyone who provides abortion care or assists a person to have an abortion in violation of the ban. For this reason, they also ask other states in the United States with similar laws not to follow that path and guarantee laws that comply with internationally protected human rights.
Impact on third countries
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And not only because of the internal impact, which disproportionately affects women living in poverty, but also because of the consequences that the ban could have in other countries. “The Supreme Court’s annulment could encourage anti-abortion movements to pressure governments and courts outside the United States to revoke the right to abortion and call into question the important achievements of recent decades,” they warn. MEPs mention, for example, the countries that depend on US financial aid to finance their public health programs and that in case of cuts it should be compensated by European funding.
The resolution also urges all Member States to decriminalize abortion and combat the obstacles that prevent safe and legal access and condemns the fact that women cannot access abortion services because the usual practice in some Member States allows doctors and, sometimes, to medical institutions refusing to provide health services alleging reasons of religion or conscience, which “endangers the lives and rights of women.” The President of France, Emmanuel Macronalready advocated at the beginning of the French presidency of the EU for the inclusion of the right to abortion in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.