Religious campaign to halt EU abortion funding 'lacks mercy'
One of Us campaign, backed by Catholic church, is trying to force the EU to hold world's poorest women hostage, say critics
theguardian.com, Monday 28 April 2014 07.20 EDT
A religious-backed initiative to prevent EU aid money being spent on programmes that support abortion lacks compassion for women, the head of the International Planned Parenthood Federation has said.
Tewodros Melesse said the One of Us campaign, launched with the backing of the Catholic church, failed to prioritise women's rights and judged women for taking control of their bodies. "A woman doesn't have an abortion for fun," said Melesse, in Stockholm last week for a meeting of parliamentarians to discuss progress on women's rights across the globe.
"The reasons for having an abortion are not taken in consideration. They don't care about the life of a woman. Because who takes care of that unwanted baby? Who will give her [the woman] support – mental and physical support? If they care about life, is a woman's life not important? All religions tell us to be compassionate, merciful, but when it comes to women, it is rejection, judgment and a 'know it all' attitude. Where is the compassion for women's lives?"
The One of Us campaign was launched in 2012 under the European Citizens' Initiative. The ECI allows the public to propose legislation they would like the European commission to consider. Proposals require at least 1 million signatures from people living in at least seven member states. The One of Us campaign, one of the first proposals under ECI, attracted more than 1.7m signatures and the organisers presented their ideas to the European parliament this month.
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/apr/28/religious-campaign-eu-abortion-funding
http://www.oneofus.eu/
http://www.ippf.org/
