That the U.S. Supreme Court would dare overturn Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, thus sending the abortion issue back to the individual states, has sent shockwaves throughout the world. On Thursday, the European Union's parliament voted 324-155 in favor of a nonbonding resolution to condemn the decision.
The EU, as Euronews noted in its coverage, has also asked that the so-called right to a "safe and legal abortion" be added to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Such an amendment would require a revision of the EU treaties.
It's not merely the United States that was the target of the pro-abortion EU, though:
The resolution text begins by "strongly" condemning the US Supreme Court decision, which has sparked a political storm and deepened social polarisation, and then raises the alarm about the global backsliding in sexual and reproductive health rights.
MEPs point the finger at some EU member states that have put up significant hurdles in abortion access, such as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia.
They also name Malta, where the procedure is completely banned, as a case of concern. The small, Catholic country is under the spotlight after Andrea Prudente, an American tourist who suffered an incomplete miscarriage, was denied treatment by Maltese doctors and had to be airlifted to Spain.
In their resolution, lawmakers argue abortions bans and restrictions "disproportionality" affect women in poverty, women of colour, irregular migrants and LGBTIQ people, and say all these legal obstacles do not actually help reduce the number of terminations "but only force people to travel long distances or to resort to unsafe abortions."
MEPs also ask the European Commission and member states to increase funding for the defence of women's rights around the world in case the US decides to cut them, and to make the issue a policy priority in the EU's external relations.
Finally, the political groups express their concern about a possible surge in money for "anti-gender and anti-choice groups" in and outside Europe as a consequence of the Supreme Court ruling.
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Euronews also joined in when it comes to condemning those who would dare advocate for pro-life positions, as pro-life groups are labeled as "far-right." As the piece continues:
Thursday's vote took place three days after lawmakers debated the end of Roe v Wade and the implications for women all around the world.
The far-right groups filed two separate resolutions defending the right to life and questioning the classification of abortion access as a human right, but the texts failed to pass.
The two groups, together with some members from the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), including its chairman Manfred Weber, formed the opposition to the final resolution.
It's worth pointing out that despite such outrage, all European nations had stricter laws on abortion than the United States did, prior to Roe being overturned. "No European country allows elective abortion through all nine months of pregnancy as is permitted in the United States, where Supreme Court precedent only allows states to regulate it after viability," a study published last summer from the Charlotte Lozier Institute found. It also explained that 47 out of 50 countries in Europe do not allow elective abortions or they limit elective abortions to 15-weeks or earlier.
In being nonbonding, the resolution is symbolic. Further, as Euronews closed its piece with, the EU actually "has no competence to define health policy, which remains in the hands of member states."
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