The right to abortion remains severely limited in EU countries (representative)
Brussels, Belgium:
European lawmakers on Thursday backed a call to include access to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, a symbolic step after France enshrined the right in its constitution.
The European Parliament adopted the non-binding resolution by 336 votes to 163, with support from centrist and left-wing groups.
But the right to “safe and legal abortion” has virtually no chance of being included in the bloc’s legally binding charter, which requires unanimous agreement by the EU’s 27 countries.
The right to abortion remains severely restricted in EU countries, including strongly Catholic Poland and Malta. Polish lawmakers opened a debate on Thursday on liberalizing abortion laws, but divisions in the ruling coalition made the outcome uncertain.
The vote in the EU parliament came after France last month became the first EU country to include the right to abortion in its constitution.
French President Emmanuel Macron said at the time that he would push for abortion to be included in the EU rights charter.
The EU debate takes place in a context of increased attention to abortion rights in the United States, after the US Supreme Court struck down a nationwide right to terminate a pregnancy in 2022.
During the vote in the European Parliament, far-left French MP Manon Aubry denounced “attacks by the far right and reactionaries” against the resolution.
“The right to abortion is not a matter of opinion, it is a human right,” she told parliament. “The right to abortion does not kill, on the contrary, it saves lives.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
