The European Parliament voted on Thursday (24 June) for a resolution on sexual reproductive health and women’s rights calling on Member States to ensure access to abortion, contraception and sex education.
The resolution, led by Croatian Socialist MEP Predrag Matić, includes comprehensive education about sexual health, contraception, abortion, fertility treatment, protection of the rights of LGBTI of+ People and Vulnerable Groups.
With 378 votes in favor, 255 against and 42 abstentions, the plenary called on Member States to ensure high quality, comprehensive and accessible sexual and reproductive health services for women.
Matić said in the plenary debate on Wednesday (23 June) that this far-reaching decision will affect more than 250 million European women.
Abortion must be accessible and legal
The resolution calls on Member States to ensure that universal access to a safe and legal abortion and guarantee that an abortion on request is legal in early pregnancy and beyond, if the health of the pregnant woman is at risk.
This question comes at a time when some Member States are still very restrictive laws prohibiting abortion except in strictly defined circumstances. A well-known example is last year’s decision by the Polish Constitutional Court to make abortion illegal in cases with severe and irreversible fetal defects.
Matić stressed that the abortion ban puts women’s health at risk. “Because of this, 23,000 women die every year. We know abortion is a difficult choice for any woman, but it has to be a choice, ”he said.
The abortion ban is forcing women to have clandestine abortions or to terminate their pregnancies against their will.
The refusal of abortion by doctors criticism was also made on the grounds of religion or conscience. “No one forbids doctors from refusing medical services for personal reasons, but healthcare facilities must have a doctor who can provide this service.said Matic.
Abortion Law: An Open Wound in Many European Countries
Poland already had one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe and is about to tighten it even further. A closer look at other European countries also shows that the trend is not towards liberalization, while at the EU level the European Commission is legally unarmed.
Sex education is key to fighting taboos
Although abortion was mainly discussed in plenary, the resolution covers a wide spectrum sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), as emphasized by Equal Opportunities Officer Helena Dalli:
“Often, any reference to SRHR is quickly associated with abortion, and people who think and say so are wrong because sexual and reproductive rights go far beyond that.”
An important part of the resolution is devoted to sex education. Parliament encourages Member States to ensure that primary and secondary school children are provided with full sex education, as SRHR education can make a significant contribution to reducing sexual violence and harassment.
Dalli said the benefits of sex education go beyond providing information on biological sciences or reproductive and health risks, as it can help combat discrimination, gender stereotypes, violence and abuse against children and women.
Dalli touched pornography as the current source of sex education for children. “It will counter the current trend of elementary and secondary school children who, with no formal education on the subject, view pornography as their own form of sex education, completely skewing the image of an intimate relationship,” said Dalli.
The MPs also focused on Contraceptive methods and accessories. Parliament called for EU countries to ensure a range of high quality contraception methods and supplies, and for family counseling and information on contraception to be widely available.
Recalling the negative impact of the so-called tampon tax on gender equality, MEPs also called on Member States to make use of the flexibility that is available in the VAT Directive and apply exemptions or 0% VAT rates to these essential basic goods.
They also urged EU countries to tackle menstrual poverty by providing free period products to all those in need.
EU4health is the main financial instrument
Commissioner Dalli said that while health care is a national competence, the Commission does fully recognizes the fundamental right of everyone to have access to health care. “We are always ready to support the needs and actions of our Member States here,” she added.
“The newly approved annual work program of EU4health for 2021 contains several of your applications. Others are expected to follow suit and carry out future programs, ”Dalli told the plenary.
She mentioned 1.2 million euros in grants to improve access to vaccination against human papillomavirus and 3.8 million euros to support HPV vaccination campaigns in the Member States.
Action grants of EUR 2 million are intended to support the accreditation and certification of quality systems for breast cancer and cervical cancer screening programs. An additional € 2 million in action grants is available to update the European Cancer Information System to monitor and evaluate cancer screening programs.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/eu-parliament-demands-progress-in-ensuring-womens-sexual-reproductive-health-euractiv-com/
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