What changed

Follow up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on including the right to abortion in the EU Fundamental Rights Charter

P9_TA(2024)0286

Resolution tabled pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the European Parliament's Rules of procedure

Inclusion of the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

Reference numbers: 2024/2655 (RSP) / B9-0205/2024 / P9_TA(2024)0286

PE760.611

Date of adoption of the resolution: 11 April 2024

European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 on including the right to abortion in the EU Fundamental Rights Charter (2024/2655(RSP))

Competent Parliamentary Committee: N/A

– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950,

Brief analysis/ assessment of the resolution and requests made in it:

– having regard to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979,

In a resolution adopted with 336 votes in favour, 163 against and 39 abstentions, the European Parliament urges the Council to add sexual and reproductive healthcare and the right to a safe and legal abortion to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Parliament condemns the backsliding on women’s rights and all attempts to restrict or remove existing protections for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender equality taking place globally, including in the EU Member States.

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter) of 2000,

The European Parliament wants Article 3 of the Charter to be amended by the European Council to state that ‘everyone has the right to bodily autonomy, to free, informed, full and universal access to SRHR, and to all related healthcare services without discrimination, including access to safe and legal abortion’.

– having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2019 on experiencing a backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU,

The text urges the Member States to fully decriminalise abortion in line with the 2022 guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), and to remove and combat obstacles to abortion, calling on Poland and Malta to repeal their laws and other measures that ban and restrict it. The Parliament condemns the fact that, in some Member States, abortion is being denied by medical practitioners, and in some cases by entire medical institutions, on the basis of a ‘conscience’ clause, often in situations where any delay will endanger the patient’s life or health.

– having regard to its resolution of 14 November 2019 on the criminalisation of sexual education in Poland,

The resolution recommends that the Commission and the European Union, make use of all available tools to ensure that organisations working against gender equality and women’s rights including reproductive rights do not receive EU funding.

– having regard to its resolution of 26 November 2020 on the de facto ban on the right to abortion in Poland,

The EU and the Member States should ensure and politically support an enabling civic space in the EU through a civil society strategy, to ensure the protection of women and SRHR human rights defenders through a protection mechanism for human rights defenders and to support them financially, notably through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. Furthermore, the EU should act as an advocate and make the recognition of this right a key priority in negotiations within international institutions and in other multilateral forums such as the Council of Europe and the UN, and lastly the EU should ratify the European Convention on Human Rights.

– having regard to its resolution of 11 November 2021 on the first anniversary of the de facto abortion ban in Poland,

Response to the requests in the resolution and overview of the action taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:

– having regard to its resolution of 24 June 2021 on the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health,

The Commission stresses that ensuring the full enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights means protecting women’s and girls’ bodily integrity, freedom from discrimination, coercion and violence. The Commission underlines the importance of the protection and fulfilment of autonomy in decision-making, as well as the informed consent and confidentiality in relation to all health services.

– having regard to its resolution of 5 May 2022 on the impact of the war against Ukraine on women,

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– having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2022 on global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturning of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court,

Concerning the call on the Commission to make use of all available tools to ensure that organisations working against gender equality and women’s rights including reproductive rights do not receive EU funding, under the CERV and Justice programmes managed by the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST) and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), the check on whether the applicants comply with the EU values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and in Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter) is carried on all proposals for grants. This assessment of the applicants’ and proposals’ adherence to EU values is carried out by Commission staff and external experts who support the Commission in the proposals’ evaluation in different stages of the assessment. The aim of these assessments is to detect potential issues pointing out to applicants’ non-compliance with EU values, including values not compatible with women’s rights as enshrined in Article 2 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 21 of the Charter. In this way, the Commission ensures that EU funds do not end up benefitting persons or organisations that are found to be in non-compliance with EU values. In case of a negative assessment, a proposal is refused access to funding.

– having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2022 on the US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and women’s health in the EU,

Furthermore, the Financial Regulation and the pre-contractual and contractual framework for grants require the Commission to ensure at all stages (pre-signature, implementation, ex-post checks) that organisations and proposals selected for funding/ projects incompatible with EU values do not receive EU funding. These rules enable authorising officers to take measures when a breach of EU values, which amounts to grave professional misconduct or as a breach of contractual obligations, is identified.

– having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2023 on proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties,

The Model Grant Agreement moreover contains an obligation for the beneficiaries to respect EU values. This also extends to other persons and entities linked to the beneficiaries, such as the affiliated entities, associated partners, subcontractors, and recipients of financial support to third parties.

– having regard to the WHO guidelines entitled ‘Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems’,

If a breach of EU values is identified during the implementation of the legal commitment, the Commission must take appropriate measures, such as the suspension of payment, termination of the grant agreement or of the participation of the concerned beneficiary, grant reduction, cost rejection, or the launch of a procedure for administrative measures under the Early Detection and Exclusion System, if the breach would fall under one of the exclusion situations listed under Article 136(1) of the Financial Regulation.

– having regard to the WHO 2017-2021 strategy on women’s health and well-being in Europe: beyond the mortality advantage and to the 2016 action plan for sexual and reproductive health: towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Europe – leaving no one behind,

The 2024 Financial Regulation recast will reinforce the current framework of the Early Detection and Exclusion System, including through the introduction of a specific ground of exclusion under grave professional misconduct. This ground refers to incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of persons or a member of a group, or similar activities that are contrary to the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU, where such misconduct has an impact on the person or entity’s integrity which negatively affects or concretely risks affecting the performance of the legal commitment.

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152),

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– having regard to the Commission communication of 12 November 2020 entitled ‘Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0698),

Regarding the call for the EU to, together with Member States, ensure and politically support an enabling civic space in the EU through a civil society strategy, to ensure the protection of women and SRHR human rights defenders through a protection mechanism for human rights defenders and to support them financially, notably through the CERV programme, the Commission shares the view that civil society organisations and human rights defenders play an important role, both as regards their work in the field of SRHR and more broadly. The Commission shares the concerns on the global backsliding on women’s and girls’ rights and deplores the shrinking civic space, notably for women’s rights organisations. Thanks to the initiatives launched notably under the Union values strand of the CERV programme, substantive amounts have been dedicated to support regional and/ or national civil society organisations (CSOs) across the EU, which defend, promote and raise awareness of fundamental rights and of EU values.

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Furthermore, in its 2020 Strategy to strengthen the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Commission noted that civil society organisations and human rights defenders are vital for a healthy democracy and a society where people can enjoy their fundamental rights. It acknowledged that civil society organisations and human rights defenders should be able to work without fear in a supportive environment.

– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR),

The CERV programme is the largest EU funding programme dedicated to promoting and supporting actions on democracy, equality, fundamental rights, and the rule of law within the EU. The 2023-2024 CERV work programme covers a range of activities to build the capacity of civil society organisations to ensure that the Charter is upheld.

– having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which opened for signature in Istanbul on 11 May 2011 (the Istanbul Convention) and was ratified by the EU on 28 June 2023,

Following the 2022 CERV Union values call for proposals, EUR 51 million were allocated to 16 projects led by (consortia of) large CSO intermediaries with the aim to re-grant most of the funds to grass-roots organisations across the EU and to carry out dedicated capacity-building activities for these organisations. The intermediaries put in place simplified calls and selection procedures and gave priority to small, remote and rural based organisations (which tend to have more limited capacity and funding sources). Therefore, for these CSOs, promoting the principles of the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy, access to funding has been largely improved. Support has also been provided to grassroot CSOs that face backlash and attacks because of their work to promote gender equality.

– having regard to the UN Human Rights Committee general comment no. 36 (2018) on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life,

The 2024 Union values call for proposals was launched in October 2023, with the budget of EUR 74.5 million. In order to streamline the funding efforts and increase sustainability, the call allowed longer (up to 48 months duration) and larger (up to EUR 6 million of EU contribution per proposal) projects. The call closed on 7 March 2024 and the evaluation of the 76 submitted proposals is currently on-going. It is expected that the selected projects will start by the end of 2024/ beginning of 2025.

– having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2024 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union – annual report 2022 and 2023,

The CERV Union values strand also supports, via three- or four-year framework partnership agreements and annual operating grants (dedicated to the organisations’ core support), some 70 European networks, civil society organisations active at EU level and European think tanks in the following thematic areas:

– having regard to its resolution of 28 February 2024 entitled ‘Report on the Commission’s 2023 Rule of Law report’,

promoting and protecting Union values;

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

promoting equality, preventing and combating discrimination;

A. whereas access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including safe and legal abortion care, constitutes a fundamental right; whereas the fulfilment of SRHR is essential in upholding human dignity and is intrinsically linked to combating sexual and gender-based violence, and achieving gender equality and a wide range of other human rights such as a person’s right to life, health, privacy, security of the person, non-discrimination, equality before the law and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

promoting gender equality;

B. whereas people’s ability to exercise their reproductive autonomy, control their reproductive lives and decide if, when and how to have children is essential to the full realisation of human rights for women, girls and all persons who can be pregnant; whereas a person’s body, their choice, and thus their full autonomy are what must be guaranteed;

combating racism, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance;

C. whereas the Charter enshrines the main fundamental rights and liberties for people living in the EU; whereas the protection of safe and legal abortion care has direct implications for the effective exercise of the rights recognised in the Charter, such as human dignity, personal autonomy, equality, health and physical and mental integrity; whereas being deprived of access to abortion care constitutes a violation of these fundamental rights;

protecting and promoting the rights of the child;

D. whereas the UN Human Rights Committee has specifically recognised that an individual’s decision to pursue voluntary termination of pregnancy falls within the scope of the right to privacy; whereas the UN Human Rights Committee has further found that failure to act in conformity with a woman’s decision to undergo a lawful abortion is a violation of the right to privacy, including when the judiciary interferes with such a decision;

promoting European remembrance;

E. whereas in its General Recommendation No. 35, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) explicitly stated that the criminalisation of abortion is a violation of women’s SRHR and a form of gender-based violence, and urged states to repeal all legislation that criminalises abortion;

promoting citizen engagement;

F. whereas SRHR are among the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, notably Target 3.7 calling for universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes, and Target 5.6 pointing out the need to ensure universal access to SRHR as agreed in line with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences;

preventing and combating gender-based violence;

G. whereas countries with less restrictive abortion laws generally have lower abortion rates than countries with highly restrictive abortion laws; whereas in view of ensuring full bodily autonomy, including reducing unintended pregnancies and enabling people to make informed decisions about their lives and bodies, access to comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based sexuality and relationship education for all is key, as well as to high-quality, accessible, safe and free contraception and family planning counselling; whereas age-appropriate, comprehensive sexuality education is essential in building children’s and young people’s ability to form healthy, equal and safe relationships, notably by addressing gender norms, gender equality, power dynamics in relationships and consent and respect for boundaries; whereas it also contributes to achieving gender equality;

preventing and combating violence against children.

H. whereas in a landmark vote on 4 March 2024, French lawmakers enshrined the guaranteed freedom to have an abortion in the French Constitution; whereas France is the first country in the world to explicitly make abortion a constitutional right; whereas this constitutional revision aims to establish a safeguard in the context of the backsliding on abortion rights in the EU and globally, including in the US, Poland, Hungary and Malta; whereas the work and commitment of feminist organisations and parliamentarians in France was key in ensuring a majority in support of the constitutional protection of the right to abortion;

Some EUR 34 million are available for these annual operating grants.

I. whereas since the inclusion of the right to abortion in the French Constitution, similar initiatives have already been considered in other countries such as Spain and Sweden, which shows the need for a European response to the pushback on gender equality and SRHR backsliding and to constitutionally protect the rights that are under attack;

Moreover, in 2022, the Commission published its annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on ‘A thriving civic space for upholding fundamental rights in the EU’. This Charter report mapped the state of the civic space in the EU and identified gaps and challenges, while recognising the value of the work of civil society organisations and human rights defenders in upholding fundamental rights. Following the Charter report, endorsed by the Council in March 2023, the Commission organised in November 2023 three thematic seminars and a closing conference (with the Spanish Presidency) on safeguarding an open and enabling civic space in the EU.

J. whereas financial support needs to accompany positive legislative changes to make the right to access abortion care a reality;

Measures to further support and empower civil society have been taken, notably with the adoption, on 12 December 2023, of a Commission Recommendation on promoting the effective participation of citizens and civil society organisations to public policy-making processes as part of the ‘Defence of Democracy’ package.

K. whereas although the EU has some of the highest SRHR standards in the world, women and members of the LGBTIQ+ community still face obstacles in enjoying their bodily autonomy; whereas these obstacles can be of a legal, policy, financial, cultural or information-related nature;

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L. whereas some Member States still have highly restrictive laws prohibiting abortion except in strictly defined circumstances, resulting in women having to seek unsafe and life-threatening procedures, travel to other countries or carry their pregnancy to term against their will, which is a violation of their human rights and a form of gender-based violence; whereas some Member States that have legalised abortion on request or on broad social grounds nonetheless continue to maintain specific criminal sanctions for abortions performed outside the scope of the applicable legal provisions;

Regarding the call for the EU to act as an advocate and make the recognition of this right a key priority in negotiations within international institutions and in other multilateral forums such as the Council of Europe and the UN, and the call for the EU to ratify the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU supports gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights through a range of interventions at bilateral, regional and global levels.

M. whereas several Member States are currently trying to further limit access to SRHR through highly restrictive laws, resulting in limited access to healthcare and gender-based discrimination and violence; whereas these initiatives and this backsliding obstruct the fulfilment of people’s rights, hinder countries’ development and undermine democracy, European values and fundamental rights;

At the global level, the EU partners closely with the United Nations Population Fund and civil society actors. The approach in the external sphere is outlined in the Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Relations 2021–2027 (GAP III).

N. whereas a coordinated and well-funded backsliding on gender equality, LGBTIQ+ diversity and feminism is taking shape globally; whereas across the globe, regressive forces and ultra-conservative religious and far right actors are trying to undo decades of human rights advances and impose a harmful world view on gender roles in families and public life; whereas these movements and attacks are closely connected to the trend of authoritarian rollbacks on global democracy; whereas this represents a clear threat to the rule of law in Europe;

In international fora, the EU is committed to the implementation of and continues advocating for the obligations in the area of women’s rights arising from the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, the Cairo Declaration on Population and Development (ICPD) and their respective outcome reviews.

O. whereas these anti-gender and anti-rights movements are specifically attacking sexual and reproductive rights and women’s autonomy, and influencing legislation and policy, leading to retrogressive initiatives being implemented in several Member States with the aim of undermining SRHR;

P. whereas Poland has further restricted access to legal abortion care, following a ruling of the illegitimate Constitutional Tribunal on 22 October 2020 entailing a de facto abortion ban and leading to the death of at least six women; whereas women have been under investigation for allegedly having abortions and women human and reproductive rights defenders have been prosecuted for helping women access abortion care, or for protesting for the right to abortion; whereas the recent judgment of the ECtHR in M.L. v. Poland found that there had been a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to respect for private and family life in the case of a woman that was forced to travel abroad for an abortion at considerable personal expense and away from her family support network and entailing a significant psychological impact;

Q. whereas the newly-elected Polish Government is committed to proposing new laws to ensure women’s rights and access to SRHR, including abortion care; whereas, regrettably, a vote on proposals for bills to decriminalise and ensure access to abortion care was postponed in the Polish Sejm;

R. whereas in Malta, abortion is de facto banned and criminalised; whereas the July 2023 reform saw a worrisome shift in the Maltese Parliament, removing rights and adding even more risks and barriers than before to access to abortion care; whereas among these barriers, doctors can only terminate a pregnancy if the person’s life is at immediate risk and before ‘fetal viability’, and are required to refer the dying pregnant person to a medical panel of three consultants; whereas cases of grave jeopardy to health are excluded from the law; whereas a pregnant person with cancer in Malta cannot be treated accordingly and must wait for the birth of the child before accessing cancer treatment, resulting in lower chances of successful treatment;

S. whereas medical abortion is not legal in Slovakia or Hungary; whereas in September 2022, Hungary passed a decree obliging women seeking an abortion to listen to the ‘fetal heartbeat’; whereas in Slovakia, repeated attempts to restrict access to abortion care through retrogressive bills in the parliament have been observed;

T. whereas access to abortion care is also being eroded in Italy; whereas in countries such as Italy, Slovakia and Romania, a large majority of doctors declare themselves conscientious objectors, making the de facto access to abortion care extremely challenging in some regions; whereas access to timely and appropriate abortion care is being denied in other Member States as a result of practical obstacles, such as in Croatia;

U. whereas several attempts to fully decriminalise abortion in Belgium have been delayed in the Belgian Federal Parliament;

V. whereas in some countries, abortion procedures and unbiased counselling remain taboo and rarely form part of the obligatory medical training, leading to a lack of knowledge and practice among physicians to the detriment of patients’ physical and mental health;

W. whereas disinformation on abortion, including online, poses a real obstacle to women’s autonomy; whereas until recently in Germany, the provision of information on doctors’ websites about medical abortion methods was considered as promoting abortion and was penalised; whereas the ‘abortion advertising ban’ was only lifted in July 2022;

X. whereas Ukrainian refugees have been unable to access abortion care in some Member States, including in cases of sexual violence, which constitutes a grave violation of their human rights and amounts to torture and inhuman or degrading treatment;

Y. whereas criminalising, delaying and denying access to SRHR, specifically abortion care, constitutes a form of gender-based violence; whereas these restrictions and bans do not reduce the number of abortions, but instead force people to travel long distances or resort to unsafe abortions, which also makes them vulnerable to criminal investigation and prosecution; whereas they affect those most lacking in resources and information; whereas almost all deaths stemming from unsafe abortions occur in countries where abortion is severely restricted; whereas these deaths are preventable; whereas unsafe abortion is a leading – but preventable – cause of maternal morbidity;

Z. whereas marginalised persons and groups, including racial, ethnic and religious minorities, migrants, people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, people living in rural areas, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and victims of violence, often face additional barriers, intersectional discrimination and violence in accessing healthcare; whereas this is a result of laws and policies that allow for coercive sexual and reproductive healthcare practices and a failure to ensure reasonable accommodations in access to quality care and information;

1. Recalls, once again, that SRHR are fundamental human rights which must be protected and enhanced and cannot in any way be watered down or withdrawn;

2. Recalls the EU’s commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual, in particular of every woman and girl, to have bodily autonomy and full control over and decide freely on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive rights, free from discrimination, coercion and violence;

3. Urges the European Council to launch a Convention for the revision of the Treaties, as requested in its resolutions of 9 June 2022 and of 22 November 2023, and to adopt its proposal included in its resolution of 22 November 2023 to add sexual and reproductive healthcare and the right to safe and legal abortion to the Charter and amend it as follows:

Article 3

Right to the integrity of the person and to bodily autonomy

2a. Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy, to free, informed, full and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to all related healthcare services without discrimination, including access to safe and legal abortion;

4. Condemns, in the strongest terms, the backsliding on women’s rights and all regressive attempts to restrict or remove existing protections for SRHR and gender equality taking place globally, including in the EU Member States, as well as all forms of threats, intimidation and harassment directed against human rights defenders and civil society organisations working to advance these rights;

5. Is concerned about the significant surge in funding for anti-gender and anti-choice groups in the world, including in the EU; calls on the Commission to make use of all available tools to ensure that organisations working against gender equality and women’s rights including reproductive rights do not receive EU funding;

6. Urges the Member States to fully decriminalise abortion in line with the 2022 WHO guidelines, and to remove and combat obstacles to safe and legal abortion and access to SRHR; calls on Poland and Malta to repeal their laws and other measures concerning bans and restrictions on abortion; urges the Polish authorities to prioritise legislative efforts to ensure full access to safe and legal abortion as soon as possible; urges the Maltese authorities to immediately decriminalise abortion and provide access to safe and legal abortion in line with the 2022 WHO guidelines;

7. Urges all Member State governments to guarantee access to safe, legal and free abortion care, to pre-natal and maternal healthcare services and supplies, voluntary family planning, contraception and youth-friendly services, and to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, without discrimination;

8. Condemns the fact that, in some Member States, abortion is being denied by medical practitioners, and in some cases by entire medical institutions, on the basis of the ‘conscience’ clause; deplores the fact that this clause is often used in situations where any delay endangers the patient’s life or health;

9. Calls on the Member States to ensure access to the full range of SRHR services including comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based sexuality and relationship education for all, high-quality, accessible, safe and free contraceptive methods and supplies, and family planning counselling, paying special attention to women of colour, Roma women, older women, women with lower education levels, LGBTIQ+ people, women with disabilities, adolescents, migrant women, including irregular migrants, and single women;

10. Calls on Member States and local governments to increase their spending on programmes and their direct subsidies to structures, including healthcare and family planning services and other organisations active in this field;

11. Urges Member State governments to make abortion methods and procedures an obligatory part of the curriculum for doctors and medical students, in particular gynaecology students;

12. Calls on all Member States to remove the legal, financial, social and practical barriers and restrictions on abortion, including those disproportionately affecting women in poverty, in particular racialised women, including black women and ethnic minority women, and women of single-parent households;

13. Acknowledges the important role of civil society organisations and SRHR human rights defenders as service providers and advocates for SRHR, and encourages them to continue their work; calls for the EU and the Member States to ensure and politically support an enabling civic space in the EU through a civil society strategy, to ensure the protection of women and SRHR human rights defenders through a protection mechanism for human rights defenders and to support them financially, notably through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme; calls on Member States to improve access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including abortion, through the EU4Health programme;

14. Calls further for the EU to act as an advocate and make the recognition of this right a key priority in negotiations within international institutions and in other multilateral forums such as the Council of Europe and the UN; calls for the EU to ratify the European Convention on Human Rights;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.