COMECE: Do not be misled, abortion is not a EU competence ​

In the context of the Vote today at the European Parliament of an own initiative Report on “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights” which includes abortion, COMECE recalls that the EU has no competence in regard to this matter. EU citizens should not be misled.

Article 168 § 7of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU states that the ‘‘Union action shall respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the definition of their health policy and for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. The responsibilities of the Member States shall include the management of health services and medical care and the allocation of the resources assigned to them.’’

In many EU member states abortion is illegal. Out of consideration for human dignity and the conviction that right to life is absolute, abortion is banned by law. The EU should respect and not interfere with decisions that do not fall within its sphere of competence.

COMECE deplores the fact that the Report put to vote today may confuse EU citizens on the remit of the Union competences. With elections to the European Parliament on the horizon, EU citizens need to be reassured that the EU will stick with its legal competences.

The COMECE Secretariat has issued in 2012 an Opinion on “Sexual and Reproductive Health”, which can be downloaded here.