Maltese MEPs vote against coercive abortion
All five Maltese MEPs have voted in favour of an amendment to the 2010 draft EU budget which called for the banning of overseas development funds to countries or organisations supporting human rights abuses such as coercive abortion.
But the amendment narrowly failed to win the support of a majority of MEPs with 292 voting in favour, 310 against and seven abstentions. It was therefore not adopted as part of the overall report on the 2010 EU budget.
The amendment had already been rejected by the Committee on Budgets, but was put to the plenary vote.
In the overall draft budget 2010, MEPs have demanded a fresh €1.5 billion to finance the economic recovery plan and €300 million for a new dairy fund. The overall report on the budget proposed by the European Commission was approved with a number of changes by the MEPs with 522 votes in favour, 68 against and 39 abstentions.
The final budget 2010 is expected to be adopted in December following negotiations with the Council.
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Malcolm Farrugia
Oct 24th 2009, 16:00
Gerry Cowie- I have no agenda behind my statement. I made a comparison where on one side there are countries which force women to abort, while in other countries there are organisations which try to push the government to keep abortion illegal.
I believe that women who choose to continue their pregnancy should be allowed to do that all over the globe , irrelevant of religions, etc etc. But i believe also that women who wants to abort should have the right to do so. I am not in favour of abortion, but i strongly believe that if a woman want to terminate her pregnancy who am I or anyone else to stop her from doing so.
Wake up mate this is 2009, shall we continue to impose our beliefs on others, or move along and let this country be truly democratic.
William P Flynn
Oct 23rd 2009, 23:41
Was there a vote on Coercive Pregnancies?In the Philippines where, because the catholic church - as in Malta - calls the shots there is inadequate use of contraception and legal abortion.
So every year 500000 Filipino women have illegal backyard abortions. This causes tens of thousands of women's deaths and serious health problems
Coercive pregnancies are just as bad as coercive abortions. Women must be allowed to deal with and control their bodies so they can become pregnant when, how many times and to whom they want.
The contraceptive pill. the morning after pill and legal abortions are natural rights which almost every nation has recognized and legislated.
These are rights which no one, no population, no country is ever going to unwind or remove whatever some celibate old man says.
Gerry Cowie
Oct 23rd 2009, 19:56
Malcolm Farrugia - if you wish to make a point it should be constructive and not a poor effort as spin.
Organisations such as Gift of Life, as I understand it, exist to promote the value of human life from conception to natural death.
You must remember that when a woman has an abortion she is choosing to end another life - a life which has no power and no voice other than that of those who uphold human life.
Certainly a woman can choose not to have a child as much as she can choose that she does want a child.
What exactly is your agenda here, Mr Farrugia?
By the way, has anybody spotted the fact that this vote was against various human rights abuses such as coercive abortions? Coercive abortions are where the women concerned are forced to have abortions against their will.
Those reading who are in favour of abortion surely would not even stand for forced abortions, would they?
André Xuereb
Oct 23rd 2009, 19:47
@ Louis Saliba: Ah yes, "avoid getting themselves pregnant." Please tell me how your argument does not fail in the case of rape. Thanks.
Louis Saliba
Oct 23rd 2009, 19:24
@Malcolm Farrugia
You have got it all wrong. No one is denying women the right to choose not to have children. To exercise that right, all they have to do is avoid getting themselves pregnant.
Malcolm Farrugia
Oct 23rd 2009, 16:28
@ P.Vincenti
"Had they passed, the amendments would have further protected a women’s real choice to decide whether or not to have children without pressure or coercion."
On one side we have countries which deny women to choose to have children, and on the other side we have ngo's like Gift of Life, who push forward to deny women the right to choose not to have children.
A. Muscat
Oct 23rd 2009, 12:54
‘All five Maltese MEPs have voted in favour of an amendment to the 2010 draft EU budget which called for the banning of overseas development funds to countries or organisations supporting human rights abuses such as coercive abortion.’
A very good decision indeed.
Down here we read about what could be worse than coercive abortion. Is the EU in a position to ban overseas development funds on the following country please?
http://antiisgood.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/video-swedish-journalist-on-israeli-organ-harvesting-our-sons-plundered-for-their-organs/
P. Vincenti
Oct 23rd 2009, 11:32
GOL welcome MEPs human rights vote – 23rd October 2009. 10.35 am
Gift of Life welcome the unequivocal stand taken by all Maltese MEPs during the vote on a number of human rights amendments presented in the EU parliament on Thursday 22nd October 2009. It is unfortunate that despite very strong support, these amendments still did not pass. The vote was very close however a qualified majority was not attained. These amendments were more about human rights than pro-life or pro-abortion ideologies.
Consequently, there is now no mechanism in place which restricts the use of funds from the EU budget for 2010 by countries and organisations, for coercive family planning programnmes which include pressure on women to have an abortion, forced sterilization programmes as well as sex selective abortions.
Had they passed, the amendments would have further protected a women’s real choice to decide whether or not to have children without pressure or coercion.