{"id":248644,"date":"2021-07-07T12:37:28","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T17:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=248644"},"modified":"2021-07-06T14:59:08","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T19:59:08","slug":"religious-eu-abortion-condemn-human-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/religious-eu-abortion-condemn-human-right\/","title":{"rendered":"EU religious groups condemn new resolution that calls abortion a human right"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Various religious groups in Europe are speaking out against a recent EU report<\/a> that defines abortion as a human right. Church leaders from a number of denominations and religious coalitions are decrying the Mati\u0107 Report, which was approved by parliament and states that\u00a0\u201cfree and legal abortion\u201d should be available everywhere in the EU, labeling \u201cbarriers in the access to abortion\u201d as a \u201cviolation\u201d of women rights and a perpetuation of \u201cinequalities.\u201d The report is not binding to EU countries, but it pressures those with pro-life laws to conform to tailor their laws to the pro-abortion majority, and contains no conscience protections for parties who object to participating in abortion.<\/p>\n

One group that has been vocal in opposition to the report is the European Evangelical Alliance, an interfaith alliance of evangelical Christians. \u201cAbortion is about the life of the woman but also of the unborn child \u2014 both lives matter,\u201d church leaders said<\/a>. \u201cThere are quite a few topics here we can fully support, like access to affordable high-quality gender-specific health-care services for all. … But we disagree with the promotion of abortion as a standard medical procedure.\u201d\u00a0According to Church Times, the Alliance represents 23 million evangelical Christians throughout Europe.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0\u2018No place in civilized society\u2019: The truth about abortions at 15 weeks<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaders of the Catholic Church have also spoken out against the resolution. \u201cAbortion is always a violation of the fundamental human right to life and is all the more repugnant as it affects the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable. It is therefore a manifestation of the most unjust discrimination,” said<\/a>\u00a0Archbishop Stanis\u0142aw G\u0105decki Pozna\u0144 of Poland.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Roman Catholic Commission of the Bishops\u2019 Conferences of the EU (COMECE) also objected to the fact that the resolution offered no conscience protections for medical professionals opposed to abortion. \u201cThere is no international treaty providing a human right to abortion, while the right to conscientious objection derives from the fundamental right to religious freedom,\u201d Fr Manuel Barrios Prieto, told Vatican News<\/a>. \u201cEven though this is a non-binding document, this European Parliament vote is worrying because it points to an underlying change of mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

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