On Friday, the Humanist Association of Germany called on MEPs in the European Parliament to consistently protect the right to sexual and reproductive health.
In a joint letter to MEPs, Frieder Otto Wolf, President of the Humanist Association of Germany, and Pierre Galand, President of the European Humanist Federation, drew attention to the debate on the report on sexual and reproductive health and rights scheduled for October 22 and to the vote on a corresponding resolution(A7-0306/2013). German MEPs were called upon to support the report as adopted by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) on September 18, 2013. The report recommends a clear European position on the issue of SRHR in the context of growing barriers as a result of the current economic crisis and related cuts in public budgets as well as a strengthened movement against the right to self-determined and free choices of girls and women in some EU countries (e.g. Spain and Hungary) and within European institutions (PACE, ECSR and EP). Specifically, the report contains:
- calling on Member States to provide access to sexual and reproductive health services based on a fundamental rights-based approach and without any form of discrimination
- the recommendation to create modern and high-quality access to the possibility of legal and safe termination of unwanted pregnancies in the public health system, available to all, including non-resident women
- an emphasis on the need for Member States to regulate and monitor the use of the right to conscientious objection in key professions by law
- calling on Member States to promote comprehensive sex education, including measures to combat stereotypes and all forms of gender-based violence, which also includes a positive view of homosexual or intersex people
The report also addresses the prevention and treatment of STIs, violence related to sexual and reproductive rights, pornography and the sexualization of young girls, as well as SRHR in EU development aid programmes. “Safeguarding sexual and reproductive health and rights is one of the foundations of a self-determined, responsible and satisfying life,” emphasized Ines Scheibe from the Executive Committee of the Federal Association on the vote planned for Tuesday. “And although universal access to reproductive health for girls and women is one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, even in Germany we are confronted with movements and processes that are resolutely opposed to these rights on religious grounds.” She emphasized that sexual and reproductive health and the associated rights are fundamental elements of human dignity and human development and form an important basis for social and economic progress. “We therefore expect a clear signal from the European Parliament, which is unequivocally in favor of strengthening the rights of girls and women in Germany and Europe.”
