On Thursday 26 November, subject to a few amendments, the European Parliament ultimately adopted a resolution on the right to abortion in Poland proposed by the S&D, Renew Europe, the Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups and the EPP (see EUROPE 12607/20) by a very large majority (455 votes in favour to 145 against, with 71 abstentions).
This resolution follows the Polish Constitutional Court’s decision that sets the stage for an almost complete ban on abortion in the country (see EUROPE 12588/9).
The MEPs pointed out that women's rights are fundamental rights that states are legally obliged to protect “in accordance with the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as international law”.
Most of the political groups also argued against replacing the paragraph condemning the court’s decision and the curtailment of women’s sexual and reproductive rights in Poland with a paragraph stating that implementation of these rights is the sole responsibility of the states.
This amendment, which was proposed by MEPs from the ID group, was only supported by their own group, the ECR and a handful of EPP MEPs, almost half of whom were French.
The resolution that was adopted calls on the Polish authorities to implement the judgments on abortion where the European Court of Human Rights found against them. It notes that “according to the Supreme Audit Office, only 2% of pregnant women living in rural areas in Poland underwent all standard tests that are necessary during pregnancy” and calls on the Commission to help states guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Finally, as many of the MEPs had already done verbally (see EUROPE 12609/4), the MEPs criticised the Polish court for coming to its decision at a time when Covid-19 is restricting “due democratic processes” and supported the thousands of Poles who have nevertheless taken to the streets.
The resolution can be found at: https://bit.ly/39lSF9e (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)