Sunday, December 13, 2009

Ireland: Labour MEPs vote against amendment to prevent EU Funding of Abortion in the Third World

Labour MEPs Nessa Childers, Alan Kelly, Proinsias de Rossa and Independent, Joe Higgins were among the MEPs who voted against the adoption of amendment 733 to Title 21 (Development and relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States) in the European Union budget last October. It was defeated by 305 votes to 316. All other Irish MEPs voted in favour of the unborn. The defeated proposal sought to prevent EU aid funds from going to big agencies involved in forced sterilisation, forced abortion and infanticide, the killing of newborn children. This amendment stated:

(the European Parliament) “Stresses that Community assistance should not be given to any authority, organization or programme which supports or participates in the management of an action which involves such human rights abuses as coercive abortion, involuntary sterilization or infanticide, especially where such action apply their priorities through psychological, social, economic or legal pressure, thus finally implementing the specific Cairo ICPD prohibition on coercion or compulsion in sexual and reproductive health matters; calls on the Commission to present a report on the implementation of the EU’s external assistance covering this programme.”

Earlier this year both Childers and Kelly assured voters that they would not support abortion if elected to Europe. They have questions to answer.

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