Archbishop Gądecki rejects EU Parliament's resolution on abortion

Archbishop Gądecki, speaking to the faithful on Sunday, commented on the so-called Matic Report adopted with majority of votes by the European Parliament on June 24.

"This document pertains to 'women's sexual and reproductive wellbeing'. The title itself resembles language used in cattle farming rather than human development. It is a resolution which, oversteps all ethical boundaries, as for the first time abortion was called a human right" - said the archbishop.

He stressed the resolution infringed on legislative competence of member states in issues such as health, sexual education and transmission of life and abortion. "This is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, key treaties, as well as rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union" - archbishop Gądecki said.

He also accused the authors of the resolution of exploiting the authority of international institutions to propagate their worldview and inciting violation of the EU law.

Gądecki added the resolution was based on a misconception of human rights, suggesting not only that something like "right to abortion" existed, but also calling it a recognised human right.

"The EU treaty law guarantees inviolable dignity of every human being, their right to live and bans eugenics. The EU is also bound to protect the rights of children. Furthermore, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that human embryo contains human dignity" - he said.

The archbishop added that abortion was the biggest threat to human life, no the coronavirus pandemic. Referring to the official data by the WHO, he said that last year 42 million abortions had been carried out across the globe.

The head of episcopate also pointed that the resolution criticised the so-called conscience clause, thanks to which doctors can refuse to perform an abortion when it stands against their principles.

He reminded that according to Church teachings, "abortion is a manifestation of the most unjust discrimination, always violates the fundamental human right to live, all the more disgusting as it affects the life of the weakest and completely defenseless human being".