Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-02-Speech-2-318"
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"en.20020702.14.2-318"2
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"Mr President, I congratulate Mrs Van Lancker, who has managed to broach the thorny issue of rights in the field of sexual and reproductive health with intelligence, understanding and courage. This report, which I think is outstanding, has nevertheless given rise to major discussions and extreme positions. Its most controversial point has undoubtedly been abortion, although the report deliberately starts by stating that abortion must not be encouraged as a method of family planning. Abortion must be seen as the solution of last resort and the report suggests various ways of achieving this.
Abortion is, however, a very real social tragedy. The blame, the pain, the physical and mental violence that abortion entails are borne predominantly by women. Consequently, in all Member States of the European Union with the exception of Ireland and Portugal, legal solutions have already been found for society to recognise every woman’s right to be attended by medical specialists in the abortion procedure. The tragedy of undergoing an abortion is enough in itself. It is time for this procedure no longer to be considered a crime and for the public persecution in the courts and in the media to stop! I feel that this report is an act of hope for the women of my country, showing them that we in Europe are fighting for everyone to enjoy equal rights, for there to be tolerance and solidarity, for the hypocrisy to end and for the health and dignity of all women to be protected. Calls for tolerance, respect and solidarity are sometimes met with obscurantism and boundless narrow-mindedness. In Portugal, a referendum on decriminalising abortion, which was not binding because less than one-third of the population voted, was won by the ‘no’ campaign. The situation has gone from bad to worse in the meantime and the proof is that numerous women have already been taken to court, I myself have been bombarded with messages from activists from the ‘no’ campaign to vote against this report, and, to top it all, the so-called ‘pro-life’ association has just instigated legal proceedings against Mrs Van Lancker in Portugal. If this were three hundred years ago, she would have been handed over to the Inquisition! It is sad, but this is still the situation in Portugal, and this is why it so important for us Portuguese to see this report approved and to feel the solidarity of Europe on such a sensitive issue.
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