Abortion in EU fundamental rights: PSD and CDS deputies question elevation to fundamental right, left applauds “positive step”

In the United States, the Supreme Court of the state of Arizona decided to go back in time 160 years, to 1864, and to a law before the existence of the state itself, ordering that abortion be almost completely banned. On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Parliament had its own historic milestone, voting on Thursday, with a significant majority, in favor of the inclusion of Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (IVG) as a fundamental right in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The proposal comes at a time when, in the wake of repealing the Roe v. Wade In the United States, the decriminalization of abortion returned to European Parliaments, on both sides of the bench. In March, France enshrined the right to abortion in its Constitution; in Malta, abortion is still illegal; and Poland will have a test of the new political dynamics of the new coalition government, with a vote scheduled this Friday to end almost total restrictions on abortion, imposed by the previous right-wing nationalist executive.

The vote in the European Parliament was achieved with many votes from MEPs from more conservative countries, such as the aforementioned Poland. The final count was 336 votes in favor, 163 against and 39 abstentions.

In an interview with Expresso, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, PS MEP, said she was “very happy” with the large advantage in approving the proposal. “Of course it doesn’t solve it, it’s not up to Parliament alone to approve it, but the Council has to take Parliament’s position into account. This large majority gives us strength to think that we must guarantee this right in a more stable way”, stated the socialist, who stressed that the decision “is not in favor of abortion, it is in favor of the rights of women who want to have it and can do so safely.” “It’s also a public health issue,” she pointed out.