Seldom has the European Parliament chamber seen as many blue cards (indicating MEPs’ desire to put a short question to another MEP) as during the debate on the global gag anti-abortion rule at the plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday 14 March.
Deep division, along national lines, among MEPs was apparent on the stance to be adopted towards the executive order by US President Donald Trump banning federal funding to foreign NGOs which support abortion.
Yet, earlier, Parliament had adopted a non-legislative resolution on gender equality in 2014-2014 which “considers that the denial of life-saving sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortion, amounts to a grave breach of fundamental human rights”.
Speaking on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Commissioner Christos Stylianides gave his backing to the “She decides” campaign initiated by the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Denmark, which has gathered over €180 million in commitments (see EUROPE 11737). “We are concerned at the impact Mr Trump’s initiative will have on access to health care and reproductive health care. This decision could have an impact on our global development goals, like mothers’ mortality”, Stylianides stated, indicating that he was aware of the need to provide the necessary funding.
His intervention was not to the liking of those MEPs who oppose abortion, such as Branislav Skipek (ECR, Slovakia), Marie-Christine Arnautu (EFF, France), Marijana Petir (EPP, Croatia) and Raymond Finch (EFDD, UK). After making their points, several anti-abortion MEPs saw blue cards raised to ask them, inter alia, if they had ever spoken to a woman who had become pregnant after being raped or whose life was endangered by pregnancy.
Unsurprisingly, the S&D, GUE/NGL, ALDE and Greens/EFA Groups were the most outspoken. Sophia in’t Veld (ALDE, Netherlands) stated that she would put down amendments to the draft EU budget to increase funding for sexual and reproductive health.
The General Affairs Council is due to discuss this issue on 3 April. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)