On the 28th of May, the European Commission has to give an
answer to the European Citizens Initiative "One of Us". Nearly 1.9
million signatures were collected to ask the European Union
could stop funding the embryonic stem cell research and abortion in developing countries
The left-liberal
opposition against the "One of Us" was fierce and many arguments were used to neutralize the concern of
so many European citizens. Main arguments were:
- One of Us is piloted by ultra-conservative, religious, anti-choice organisations
- One of Us is actually not a Citizens’ initiative but orchestrated by the Catholic Church and the East Orthodox churches
- One of Us” is the latest in the series of recent attacks on gender equality, women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe“One of Us” is imposing their religious beliefs at any cost
- One of Us will be responsible of the death of thousands of women in developing countries
- One of Us wants to block scientific research based on their ideology. Science should be neutral
- One of Us wants to abolish essential EU support for maternal health care, prenatal and voluntary family planning services.
- The “One of Us” campaign is at odds with the EU’s longstanding development aid policy and its international commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
1. “One of Us” is piloted by ultra-conservative, religious,
anti-choice organisations[1]
Opponents claimed “that 96% of the total € 159,219 declared to fund One of
Us came from organisations controlled by two MEPs and that an initiative
orchestrated and driven by MEPs being heard in the European Parliament is
hardly true to the intended spirit of a citizens’ initiative”.
This criticism is not only untrue, but also
discriminatory. It is completely clear that the funding of the petition, which
has been disclosed to the Commission is perfectly in line with what is foreseen
by Regulation 211/2011. Therefore, there is no valid ground for drawing in
question the legitimacy of the petition, which is based on the signatures of
nearly 1.9 million EU citizens, of which 1,721,626 have been officially
validated.
These criticisms are not only unfounded but also betray
a discriminatory and profoundly anti-democratic attitude; they stand in open
contradiction to fundamental EU values. Should “religious” people be treated as
second-class citizens and not be allowed to use the instrument of participatory
democracy provided by the European Citizens’ Initiative or (if they do) not be
listened to?
2. “One
of Us” is actually not a European Citizens Initiative but is organized by the
Catholic Church COMECE structures and the Orthodox Churches in the East. They
are (misusing) their influence
One of the issues we face in debates about
medical-ethical issues (like for example the well-known Estrela report on
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) is that the defenders of liberal
SRHRs do not try to attack the arguments but prefer to attack their opponents,
labelling them as “religious extremists” or as “the voice of the Catholic
church”. In this way they seek to avoid an
open and honest debate about the arguments and concerns that are raised. In an
open and transparent EU, we should listen to diverse arguments and opinions.
This time, those who oppose the One of Us initiative
tried to silence millions of European Citizens who are genuinely concerned
about the funding of the embryonic stem cell research and promoting abortion in
developing countries.
In addition, it is not true that this is centrally
planned and organised by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. What is true is that many believers and church
leaders share their concern and therefore promote the initiative like many other
organisations who share these concerns. This has nothing to do with an abuse of
power. It is strange that without evidence, 1.9 million people were seen as
being manipulated and forced to sign. Again, in the EU democratic debate,
transparency should be paramount. The EU should be impartial in its treatment
of each ECI.
3. “One
of Us” is the latest in the series of recent attacks on gender equality,
women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe
This is an interesting remark. It is true that there
was a lot of opposition to the Estrela Report dealing with 'sexual and
reproductive health and rights' (SRHR) report in late 2013. This was mainly
because it exceeded the competences of the European Union. Furthermore, “One of
Us” does not call sexual and reproductive health into question. But considering
abortion as a fundamental part of both family planning and reproductive health
is very controversial. There is absolutely no consensus within the EU about
abortion policies and abortion certainly is not a European right, even less a
matter of EU competence.[2]
About the term “Sexual Reproductive Health”: the
European Commission itself declared that abortion was not included in the
definition of SRH and used the same definition of the term “reproductive
health” as it was defined by the United Nations (UN) in 1994 at the Cairo
International Conference on Population and Development. [3]“The
Union has never adopted an alternative definition of “reproductive health” to
that given in the Programme of Action, which makes no reference to abortion” [4] Also, answering an MEP's question: “Does
the term ‘reproductive health’ include the promotion of abortion, yes or no?”,
the Council Presidency's answer was clearly: “No”[5]
There are no attacks on SRH, but on the redefining of the
term. Improvements of maternal care is of crucial importance, especially in
developing countries. Often there is no birth attendant, the medical
environment is not fully sanitary, emergency facilities are absent or
inadequate, doctors are not trained or equipped to handle obstetric
emergencies, and basic medical and surgical supplies such as antibiotics and
sterile gloves and equipment are scarce or unavailable and most maternal deaths
can be prevented with adequate nutrition, basic health care, and good obstetric
care throughout pregnancy, at delivery, and postpartum. To reduce maternal mortality we must strive to give women in the
developing world access to the same standard of care that has been available to
women in the developed world for decades-care that results in a healthy outcome
for mother and child[6].
Conclusion: it is not true that the supporters of “One of Us” are against Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). However they do not agree about considering abortion as a means of family planning. In this respect the ideologies of “individual autonomy” and the “protection of life” are clashing. Therefore adding this to the SRHR will always find resistance
Conclusion: it is not true that the supporters of “One of Us” are against Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). However they do not agree about considering abortion as a means of family planning. In this respect the ideologies of “individual autonomy” and the “protection of life” are clashing. Therefore adding this to the SRHR will always find resistance
4.
“One of Us” is imposing their religious beliefs at any cost
It is not true that “religious beliefs” are imposed on
others. In this Initiative it is about the protection of life and dignity in
this case of the life of the embryo. In the Brüstle judgement, the European
Court of Justice has defined the meaning of the term “human embryo”, finding that
this term applies to the fertilised ovum as from the moment of conception and
that human embryos are endowed with
human dignity. It therefore declared that there is no “transitional period”
after the moment of conception in which a human embryo is not (yet) a bearer of
dignity, and concluded that we can’t benefit from its destruction. This is not
based on a religious view, but on the decision of the European Court and the EU
should be obliged to ensure consistency in all its policies. [7]
By not respecting this fact, I am wondering who is
actually imposing their ideologies in order to destruct life. Individual
autonomy should never be at the expense of human dignity.
5. One
of Us will be responsible of the death of thousands of women in developing
countries
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that
there are 42 million abortions worldwide each year and 20 million of these are
clandestine or illegal. According to WHO, unsafe abortions cause about 65,000
to 70,000 maternal deaths each year, 99 percent of which take place in the
developing world. Therefore the IPPF claims that “the legalization of abortion
and the provision of family planning services dramatically cut abortion-related
deaths”. However, this conclusion is contrary to the available evidence.
The lack of modern medicine and quality health care,
not the prohibition of abortion results in high maternal mortality rates.
Legalized abortions actually leads to more abortions[8]- and in the developing world, where
maternal health care is poor, this would increase the number of women who die
or are harmed by abortion. Most maternal deaths can be prevented with adequate
nutrition, basic health care, and good obstetric care throughout pregnancy, at
delivery, and postpartum.
Contrary to the United Nations Population Division
(UNDP), there has been no substantial decrease in maternal mortality or child
mortality since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development
in Cairo and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijng[9] This is true even though, in that same
period, more women have access to legal abortion than ever before.
By contrast the examples of Russia, , Ireland and
Poland demonstrate that nations with strong abortion restrictions actually have
lower maternal death rates than countries that permit abortion on demand[10]. When Poland finally prohibited most
abortions following decades of government-funded abortions on demand, evidence
suggests that the total number of abortions (legal and illegal) fell
dramatically[11]
Regarding India the report noted: “Despite the
liberalization of the abortion law, unsafe abortions have contributed to the
high rates of maternal mortality in India (570 maternal deaths per 100,000
births in 1990”[12]
According to estimates from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and
the World Bank, the four countries that decreased their Mortal Mortality Rates
the most between 1990 and 2008 are Maldives, Romania, Iran and Bhutan[13].
With the exception of Romania, these countries have maintained bans on abortion[14]
One should also question the accuracy and ideological
bias of the WHO data. In 2010, the
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), led by former WHO employee
Dr. Christopher Murray, published a study in the journal The Lancet refuting
the UN’s numbers, showing maternal mortality levels were far below what the WHO
had long claimed. Months later, the UN group led by the WHO published its own
revised numbers which were closer to the IHME estimates for that year.
According to the IHME, maternal mortality has declined steadily but far more
gradually than previously thought. Furthermore, improvement began prior to the
Millenium Development Goals, and it is not readily apparent that the MDGs
accelerated the process. [15]
6. One of Us wants to block scientific research
based on their ideology. Science should be neutral.
Science has opened the special world of embryos to us.
We know how they look, how they develop, how they change their shapes and more.
Scientists are also fascinated by the development of human life. Stem cells especially,
could be very interesting for researchers. These simple cells can develop into
a complete and healthy human being. Since 2006, Japanese scientists Kazutoshi
Takashi and Shinya Yamanaka found a way to program back the body cells of adults
to stem cells. These cells are called “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC’s).
The advantage of these stem cells is that you can obtain them easily and do not
require the use of embryos. If scientists succeed, these cells will acquire the
same properties as embryonic stem cells.
While the stem cell research was firstly focused on
the unethical use of embryonic stem cells (see point 4), with the latest
developments we see a whole new move towards adult cells. The Bishops’
conference of the EU praised this method and called it a turning point in stem
cell research and the debate around it. Dr. Yamanaka took the ethical
objections against embryonic stem cell research seriously. “When I saw the
embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my
daughters” he said “I thought, we can’t keep destroying embryos for our
research. There must be another way”.
The human embryo is a complete human being at an early
stage of development and should be respected as a living human being. From an ethical
point of view, you therefore cannot use cells without permission of the donor;
and certainly not when it involves the destruction of that person. Adult stem
cells are different, as they can be taken from an adult without endangering
their life, and therefore there is no moral dilemma. Another objection to
embryonic stem cell research is that it has not yielded a single therapeutically
use to date. Supporters of the ethically controversial research always argue
with great promises, announcing that they will soon be healing Parkinson’s
disease, Alzheimers and other diseases, but they have yet to make a single delivery
on those promises, while adult stem-cells have yielded many therapeutic uses,
including treatment of blood diseases.
We should therefore stimulate (and fund) adult stem
cell research. And from a results and ethical point of view the funding of the
embryonic stem cell research should be halted.
7. One of Us wants to abolish essential EU
support for maternal health care, prenatal and voluntary family planning
services.
The One of Us does not propose to cut back funding for
development aid. Nor a reduction of funds spent on programmes related to sexual
and reproductive health. It does not call for an end of education and information
on sexuality or for a cut on maternal health services in the true sense of the
word (see also point 3).
It simply states that EU funds, while not being
reduced, should not be used for funding abortions. As stated in point 5 above, and 8 below, this will have a
marked benefit in terms of reaching the millennium development goals as
increased resources are given to true maternal health services.)
8. The “One of Us”
campaign is at odds with the EU’s longstanding development aid policy and its
international commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) [16]
The legal basis for funding the Sexual and
Reproductive Health programmes in developing countries is the Regulation on aid
for policies and actions on reproductive and sexual health and rights in
developing countries (2003) which states in article 1 that: “The Community shall provide financial
assistance and appropriate expertise with a view to promoting a hoslistic
approach to, and the recognition of, reproductive rights as defined in the ICPD
programme of Action, including safe motherhood and universal access to a
comprehensive range of safe and reliable reproductive and sexual health care
and services”[17].
Article 16 “No support should be given
under this Regulation to encourage sterilization or abortion, or to improper
testing of contraception methods in developing countries”
The ICPD refrained from promoting abortion in the
definition of SRH. The only time abortion is mentioned, it is accompanied by
strict limitations, explicitly stating that abortion was not a legitimate means
of family planning that it should only be available where already legal, and
that it should not be a promoted course of action for women. Also the
definition specifically requires that any changes related to abortion law “can
only be determined at the national or local level according to the national
legislative process[18]”
In point 3 we already discussed about the term “reproductive health”. The
sustained improvement of the health and well-being of the populations of developing
countries is one of the major objectives of development. Improving reproductive
and sexual health and protecting reproductive and sexual rights are important
aspects of this objective. The word “improving”connotes the positive
application of the regulation
In 2013 the EU contributed €56.5 billion in overseas
development aid, which is over half the global aid given.[i] In the European Council’s conclusions of 19th
May 2014 they reemphasised that the implementation of a rights based approach
to development should “be
based on the universality and indivisibility of human rights and the principles
of inclusion and participation in decision-making processes;
non-discrimination, equality and equity; transparency and accountability.” The ‘One
of us’ initiative would support these themes, asking that those funding and
those providing these services also apply adhere to them all. For example, calling manual vacuum aspiration
abortions by the euphemism of ‘Menstruation Regulation’[ii]
and performing these with EU funding in countries where abortion is illegal, is
contrary to transparency, truth and EU development aid policy, and therefore
should be defunded.
Everyone is for the reduction of maternal
mortality. However, the way to stop
mothers dying in childbirth should not be to terminate motherhood while the
child is in the womb. True development
in the provision of pregnancy education, health clinics, hospitals, midwives,
anti-biotic drugs, doctors, etc (but not damaging abortion operations) will
achieve the reduction in maternal mortality.
A study published in the Lancet indicates that 51% of maternal deaths
could be prevented by this type of healthcare provision. [iii]
[1] Information taken from: http://www.oneofus.eu/a-response-to-criticisms-by-ippf/
[2]) In respons to a question posed on March 26, 2007
regarding Latin-American countries and their legislation about abortion, the
Commission responded: “The Commission does not assume any positions in favour
or against abortion, due to the fact that there is no community legislation in
this respect” Reply of the Commission H-0239/07, April 26, 2007 and the Reply
of the Council E-4955/06 March 19, 2007 “Concerning the right to abortion, the
Council would inform the Honorable Member that the issue of abortion from a
legal point of view falls under the competence of the Member States”
[3])Source: http://www.europeandignitywatch.org/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Day_to_Day_diverse/Funding_of_Abortion_Through_EU_Development_Aid_full_version.pdf
[4]) See the Commission response to Question H-0729/03
from MEPs Bernd Posselt and H-0794/03 from Dana Scallon 4 December 2003.
[5]) See the Council Response to Questions H-0729/03 and
H-0794/03, Question time Dec. 4 2003
[6]) Source : http://www.mccl.org/document.doc?id=252
[8]) In the United States, the abortion number
skyrocketed from an estimated 90,000 per year to a peak of 1.6 million
following total legalization in 1973
based on “An Objective Model for estimating Criminal Abortions and its
implications for public policy” in New perspectives on Human Abortion ed.
Thomas W. Hilgers, M.D. Dennis J. Horan and David Mall (Frederick, MS:
University Publications of America 1981). Stanley Henshaw of the Guttmacher
Institute says “In most countries, it is common after abortion is legalized for
abortion rates to rise sharply for several years, then stabilize, just as we
have seen in the United States” It is plausible to conclude that given a
substantial increase in the total number of abortions following legalization,
the number (if not the rate) of abortion-related maternal deaths may actually
increase, not decrease.
[9]) United Nations, World Mortality Report 2005 (New
York, United Nations, 2006), Sales No. E.06.XIII.3
[10]) ibid
[11]) Wm. Robert Johnston: “Data on abortion decrease in
Poland, Johnston’s Archive, 26 May 2008
[12]) United Nations, Abortion Policies: A global Review
(New York, United Nations, 2002), Sales No. E.02.XIII.18, 56-58)
[13] WHO, et al., Trends
in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2008 (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2010),
33
[14]) http://www.nrlc.org/uploads/international/MCCLMaternalMort2012.pdf
[15]) Also the IHME reported close to 300,000 maternal
deaths in 2013, which marks a 22% decrease since 1990. However, the WHO-led
group claims that maternal mortality dropped by 45% in the same time frame. The
disputed 1990 estimate – 376,034 maternal deaths according to IHME and 523,000
according to the WHO has important policy implications for the future. More
information on: http://c-fam.org/en/issues/global-health/7833-new-guttmacher-chief-doesn-t-let-facts-get-in-the-way-of-advocacy.
[16]
This information is taken from the well-documented report of the European
Dignity Watch about “the Funding through EU development aid: An analysis of
EU’s sexual and reproductive health policy”. This is an important report giving
much more information about how the EU tries to implement SRH policies and also
the lack of transparency on the financing of projects which are exceeding EU
competences. The report can be found at:
http://www.europeandignitywatch.org/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Day_to_Day_diverse/Funding_of_Abortion_Through_EU_Development_Aid_full_version.pdf
[17]
Regulation No 1567/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council
[18]
Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo,
UN, ch. VII, paragraph A, 3 September 1994, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18
[i]
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/142676.pdf
[ii] http://www.ippf.org/resources/media-press/glossary/m
[iii] http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60792-3/fulltext
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