Posted on 01/06/2006 3:16:46 PM PST by Grzegorz 246
An attempt by the Vatican to reduce the number of abortions in Slovakia has raised concerns in the European Union about the loss of rights for women.
A draft treaty between Slovakia and the Holy See would allow hospital staff to refuse to do abortions or fertility treatment on religious grounds.
A panel of EU lawyers says this could restrict the rights of those who want them in such a firmly Catholic nation.
Pope Benedict XVI has vowed to take a tough line on issues such as abortion.
The draft treaty, drawn up in 2003, says it is based on "recognising the freedom of conscience in the protection and promotion of values intrinsic to the meaning of human life".
Slovakia is said to be 70% Catholic but abortion is legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
Under the draft agreement, the Slovak Republic "undertakes not to impose an obligation on the hospitals and healthcare facilities founded by the Catholic Church... to perform artificial abortions or assisted fertilisations".
Far-reaching deal
But Professor Olivier De Schutter, the head of the panel of lawyers from the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights, says the articles relating to religious conscientious objection raise the most concern. He said it was "far-reaching, considering a very large majority of healthcare providers in Slovakia are Catholics and might exercise their right to conscientious objection".
He said the treaty did not oblige medical staff in such cases to refer the person seeking advice to another healthcare provider.
Human rights bodies have repeatedly said that when abortion is legal in a country, access to abortion must be provided to all without discrimination.
"The right to religious conscientious objection may be and should be respected, but with safeguards that make it possible for women to seek legal abortion," Professor de Schutter told the BBC's Europe Today programme. "This is the problem the draft text may be posing."
Richard Fides, a spokesman for Slovakia's justice minister, rejected claims in some European media that the document was basically an abortion agreement.
"That is sheer nonsense," he told the Slovak commercial television station TA3.
"The objective of the agreement is to ensure that every individual can apply their right to the objection of conscience. It is neither right nor just for a doctor-gynaecologist, who is for example a supporter of the culture of life, to be forced to perform an abortion."
Holy agreements
But Martin Buzinger, Slovakia's representative on the legal panel, argued that "the agreement stipulates a very broad right to the objection of conscience, without ensuring at the same time that this right is not abused."
The Holy See has similar treaties - or concordats - in place with other member states, including Italy, Latvia and Portugal, but clauses on religious conscientious objections only relate to exemptions from military service.
The draft treaty is yet to be signed. If it is, it will have the status of an international treaty, as the Vatican is a sovereign state.
Professor de Schutter says any political response to the legal panel's report on the draft treaty will be down to the European Commission and parliament.
Slovaks should tell them "stay the f**k away from us when this issues are concerned. It's not EU's business".
It would simplify things if Brussels would simply issue abortion quotas that each member state is required to meet. It would be easier, then, to measure compliance.
But you know, they would have to create a commission, to negotiate those quotas. :-)
Go Benedikt! Don't let the corrupt EU commissioners dictate to the Church.
Slovakia's birthrate is practically zilch, isn't it? If they don't want to disappear as a nationality, they'd better do *something* soon.
"about the loss of rights for women."
They'd do better to worry about how soon Sharia will be imposed on all of them, and the women will have to don chadors.
Women have a God-given right to kill their babies! < /s>
It is indeed EU business to clarify that it is the human right of each physician to refuse abortion due to this Hippocratic oath and his ethic background.
No human being can be forced to kill another human being!
Yep. You are probably right that it is formally no field were they can be active.
Nevertheless it belongs to the basic human rights to refuse murder. The EU should be civilized enough to respect this and it would be appropriate to them to take it into their agenda.
Go Benedikt! It is necessary.
If they rendered Caesar anything, they'd jump off a bridge and llet those kids live without them
Maybe the Vatican found one Christian nation remaining in Europe that its trying to convince to save itself by reproducing and adding a few more Europeans to the dying continent. Afterall, the only ones producing more are the muslims, that happy go lucky, tolerant, loving group of independent thinking, freedom loving folks.
Amazing that they would object to this. It boggles my mind.
Kudos to Pope Benedict XVI for his stand.
Slovakia should just tell the EU to go to hell. Such matters are Slovakia's own business and it's business alone.
BTW, Slovakia isn't exclusively Catholic. There was and still is a decent sized Protestant minority (mainly Lutheran, I believe). What's their opinion on this?
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