On Thursday 7 July, all Irish MEPs (except for Deirdre Clune MEP who did not vote) supported a resolution in the EU parliament which proposed to include a “right to abortion” in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
The motion was a PR stunt from pro-abortion MEPs, as the EU has no competence to legislate in this area, and altering the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU requires unanimity from all 27 Member States. The motion passed by 371 to 161, with a further 22 abstaining, and 151 MEPs being absent for the vote.
The motion was entitled “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 including in the EU”, and was a direct response to the recent US Supreme Court decision which overturned the Roe v Wade ruling.
All Irish MEPs in the “The Left” group in the EU Parliament (independents Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Luke “Ming” Flanagan, and Chris MacManus from Sinn Féin) voted in favour, as did both Green Party MEPs, Grace O’Sullivan and Ciarán Cuffe.
Four of Fine Gael’s MEPS (Frances Fitzgerald, Seán Kelly, Maria Walsh and Colm Markey) supported the motion, and Fianna Fáil’s two representatives at EU level, Billy Kelleher and Barry Andrews voted in favour too. Andrews was one of the main sponsors of the resolution.
The motion proposed that a new Article 7a should be inserted into the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, which would state that “Everyone has the right to safe and legal abortion“.
Thankfully the passing of the resolution has no legal effect, but it does demonstrate the pro-abortion mindset of a majority of MEPs at present, including nearly all the Irish delegation to the EU parliament.
To contact your MEP and express concern at how they voted, you can find their contact details here.
