At a plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday 11 March, MEPs debated the ‘roadmap’ for women’s rights presented by the European Commission on 7 March (see EUROPE 13595/1), with a view to determining the broad outlines of the future EU strategy on gender equality.
The issue of access to healthcare and sexual and reproductive rights has been raised on numerous occasions. For example, Mélissa Camara (Greens/EFA, French) deplored the absence of an explicit reference to the right to an abortion: “The right to an abortion is a fundamental right. Women [...] put themselves at risk every day to acquire, preserve and restore it. However, the Commission did not see fit to mention this.”
Hanna Gedin (The Left, Swedish) described the text as a “disappointment”, regretting that “the emphasis is on entrepreneurship, competition and growth”, while “the right to an abortion is ignored”.
Supporting these arguments, Abir Al-Sahlani (Renew Europe, Swedish) also called for an increase in funding for gender equality in the next multiannual financial framework, asking for investments “more based in feminism, free from patriarchy”.
She also called for rape to be criminalised on the basis of consent.
The Chair of Parliament’s Women’s Rights Committee, Lina Gálvez (S&D, Spanish), nevertheless welcomed the progress that has been made: “We therefore particularly appreciate the inclusion of sexual and reproductive health rights. It’s very important and we’re really pleased.” Indeed, this inclusion was supported by Parliament’s progressive groups (Renew Europe, S&D, Greens/EFA, The Left) (see EUROPE 13593/21).
The MEP nevertheless reiterated that “true equality means more than what we have achieved so far” and highlighted the need to “create a world where every woman has the freedom and conditions to choose her own path”.
As early as April 2024 (see EUROPE 13389/15), MEPs adopted a resolution calling for the right to abortion to be incorporated into the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, repeating the request made in 2022 after it was called into question in the United States. However, it should be remembered that any revision of this Charter would require the joint agreement of all the Member States. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)