Council of Europe calls on members to make abortion safe and legal

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe yesterday passed a resolution supporting women’s right to safe and legal abortion.

The Council, which brings together parliamentarians from 47 countries, representing 800 million Europeans, voted 102 to 69 in favor of the resolution after roughly four hours of debate. Their decision calls on European member states — including Ireland, Andorra, Malta, Monaco and Poland where abortion is severely restricted — to:

• decriminalize abortion, if they have not already done so
• guarantee that women can exercise of their right to abortion and lift restrictions which hinder access to safe abortion
• take the necessary steps to create the appropriate conditions for health, medical and psychological care
• adopt appropriate sexual and reproductive health strategies, including affordable and accessible contraception, as well as sex education for young people

Gisela Wurm, an Austrian lawmaker, drafted the report to the Council. In it, she writes, “Where abortion is legal, safe and accessible in Europe, abortion rates tend to be low (also, probably, because most of the countries which take this stance also invest heavily in sex education and accessible contraception). Restrictions on abortion — such as compulsory waiting or ‘cooling off’ periods, requirements for prior consultations or ‘counseling,’ or consent by two doctors — are also, in general, counterproductive.”

Agreeing with Wurm, British Labour deputy Christine McCafferty told the International Herald Tribune there was no evidence that restricting abortion reduces the number of abortions.

“Ipas is thrilled with the success of this pan-European effort to underscore that safe, legal abortion is truly a matter of women’s rights,” says Charlotte Hord Smith, Ipas policy director. “This resolution puts women’s needs and rights over politics.”

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258