MEPs override abortion objections

European parliamentarians have voted through a report on access to abortion and birth control among the world’s poor, in the face of right wing protests.

Conservative MEPs in particular objected to criticisms of the so-called ‘Mexico City Policy’, under which president George Bush withdrew  US support for abortion clinics in developing countries.

Nonetheless the report, by German socialist MEP Karin Junker, was voted through by a majority of 287 to 196.

International family planning organisation Marie Stopes welcomed the result for its broad implications on the importance of reproductive health.

A spokesman said that “the opponents of the report are trying to make out that it is about abortion, when in fact it is a broad one on the importance of reproductive health”.

She said her company “certainly welcomed” the report both for its “wider impact” on women’s health issues and for its critique of the US government.

She explained that since taking power in 2001 Bush has withdrawn all US aid for NGOs “providing, advocating or counselling” abortion, even if the American money is not directly used for abortion.

This Mexico City Policy has inevitably had a knock-on effect on all ‘safe-motherhood’ programmes in the world’s poorer nations, causing a drop in funding for everything from reproductive health services to nutritional advice for mothers with new babies.

Marie Stopes said Tuesday’s vote was “another instance of the EU expressing its support for these issues and exerting moral pressure on the Bush administration.”

But anti-abortion lobbyist David Fieldsend said he was “very disappointed” by the result.

“In the last ten years there has been a sea change in the world population situation – we have gone from having exponential population growth predicted to seeing things stabilise, if not decline.”

He added that the AIDs virus is “decimating” the population of developing countries: "this is not a scenario for having robust population growth”.

“We need to rethink our policies rather that carrying on with things as they were ten years ago.”

And Irish conservative MEP Dana Scallen voted against the report, saying “the EU has no competence in the area of abortion”.

“It cannot ask any member state to integrate this into national law – the issue shouldn’t even be before the European parliament.”

“It would be much better if the EU kept out of areas in which is has no competence and focused on issues for which it does, such as providing education, food and safe water supplies.”

As regards Bush, Scallen said that “This is an EU issue – it has nothing to do with any other country or any other president”.

Abortion is illegal in Ireland.

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