Thursday, June 4, 2009

European Petition For Free Abortion — Seeks One Million Signatures

MAKE NOISE FOR FREE CHOICE

Give the women of Europe the right to free abortion!

All around the world, women are denied their right to free, legal and safe abortions. Even in Europe, women are deprived of the control over their own bodies and the number and spacing of children. It is the everyday reality facing women in Ireland, Poland and Malta.

When a state denies a woman the right to her own body, integrity and health, it is a violation of her human rights. A woman deprived of the choice of carrying out or terminating a pregnancy is being violated in that precise way.

Despite this, abortion is still considered a health issue in the European Union and sorts under the principle of subsidiarity; to be regulated by the individual member countries. But why should the principle of subsidiarity include a human right that, due to biological reasons, only concerns women, when the respect for human rights in all other matters is a criterion for the EU-membership?

Nowhere in the world should a woman be forced to use a hanger, eat washing powder or see a quack doctor to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, when safe abortion methods are available.

A cornerstone of the European Union is to work for gender equality and health.Therefore, women who lack the access to free, legal and safe abortions in the EU-countries such as Ireland, Malta and Poland, can no longer be ignored. The governments of these countries must be put under pressure.

It is time for the EU to secure the right to free, safe and legal abortions and render it a human right.

Do you want to put pressure on the European power holders? Join others in collecting one million signatures for the right to free abortion. Sign the Make Noise for Free Choice.

http://www.makenoiseforfreechoice.eu/