Saturday, February 27, 2021

The bishops of Europe defend Polish law


 The clergy gathered in the Commission of the European Union Bishops' Conference (COMECE) sent a letter to the European Parliament's President concerning the EP resolution on abortion law in Poland. The bishops indicate what the rule of law is, which EU officials so eagerly defend.

"The rule of law also requires respect for the competences of the Member States".

 In their letter, the bishops of the EU emphasize that "the Catholic Church, which tries to support women in life situations resulting from difficult or unwanted pregnancies, calls for the protection and care of the entire unborn life."

“From a legal point of view, neither European Union legislation nor the European Convention on Human Rights provides for the right to abortion. This matter was left to the legal systems of the Member States,” emphasize the bishops.

"Strict adherence to this principle is a requirement of the rule of law, one of the fundamental values of the Union." 

On November 26, 2020, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the "de facto ban on the right to abortion in Poland". It was prepared by five political groups: the European People's Party, Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, Greens and GUE. 455 MEPs supported the resolution, 145 were against and 71 MEPs abstained. 

In a resolution, the EP "strongly condemned" the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal on abortion in Poland, believing that "this ruling endangers the health and life of women".

Pursuant to the Act on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Fetus and Conditions Permitting Termination of Pregnancy, which has been in force since 1993, abortion is currently available in two cases - when the pregnancy endangers a woman's life or health and when it arose as a result of a prohibited act (rape or incest). The Constitutional Tribunal's judgment found the premise, which allowed for the termination of pregnancy due to severe and irreversible damage to the fetus, to be inconsistent with the Constitution. With the publication of the Constitutional Tribunal's judgment on January 27, this provision ceased to apply.