aborto

Staunchly Catholic populations in Ireland, Malta and Poland are opposed to abortion. Photo: Mariacki church in Gdansk, Poland (Photo: EUobserver.com)

Expulsion of a foetus from the womb before it is able to survive.

The EU has no formal competence to legislate on allowing or not allowing abortion. However, in September 1991, the European Court of Justice decided in the case of SPUC v. Grogan that abortion could constitute a service within the meaning of Article 50 TEC in the Nice Treaty.

The article can be found in the Lisbon Treaty as art. 57 TFEU. As a result, Ireland, a Member State with strict anti-abortion law, asked for a protocol to the Treaty of Maastricht to avoid the possibility of EU laws (the acquis) overriding national law. This protocol is repeated in the Lisbon Treaty (no 35) protecting the Irish Constitution Art. 40.3.3

In December 2002, Malta obtained a similar provision during its membership negotiations. Poland is another Member State where abortion is outlawed. It has had an individual agreement (unilateral declaration) concerning abortion and morality annexed to its accession treaty.

The European Charter of fundamental rights includes the right to life (Art. 2). The Lisbon Treaty make the Charter legally binding, see art. 6 TEU. The EU Court in Luxembourg may therefore judge on sensitive moral and ethical questions.

Does the right to life start with birth, nine month earlier, or when?

From which moment during pregnancy will EU law respect this right to life?

When does life end? Is euthenasia permitted or not? It is such sensitive areas which can now be dealt with at European level.

Notes

In July 2002, an EU Parliament resolution called for legal access to abortion in both Member States and candidate countries. In 2008 the Council of Europe called for the right to abortion for women.

Links

Case SPUC v. Grogan - C-159/90 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smart......mp;numdoc=61990J0159&lg=EN

Treaty of Maastricht http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/tr......ies/dat/11992M/htm/11992M.html 

The European Charter of fundamental rights http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/unit/charte/index_en.html