MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on The state law relating to abortion in Texas, USA

5.10.2021 - (2021/2910(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Samira Rafaela, Abir Al‑Sahlani, Petras Auštrevičius, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Olivier Chastel, Klemen Grošelj, Bernard Guetta, Svenja Hahn, Irena Joveva, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Nathalie Loiseau, Karen Melchior, Frédérique Ries, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Michal Šimečka, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Ramona Strugariu, Dragoş Tudorache, Hilde Vautmans
on behalf of the Renew Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0490/2021

B9‑0497/2021

European Parliament resolution on The state law relating to abortion in Texas, USA

 

(2021/2910(RSP))

The European Parliament,

 

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on reproductive healthcare;

-  having particular regard to its resolution on the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health on 24 June 2021, declaring access to reproductive healthcare a fundamental pillar of women’s human rights, and denial of the same to be a form of violence against women and girls;

-  having regard to the EU Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025;

-  having regard to Article 25 of the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights, to which the United States of America is party, guaranteeing the right to “medical care and necessary social services”;

-  having regard to the Guttmacher Institute’s report of September 2019, which noted a worrying upward trend of potentially dangerous non-medical attempts at self-induced abortion in American states with restrictive access to reproductive healthcare;

-  having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which was adopted on 25 September 2015, and in particular to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 5, 16 and the related indicators;

-  having regard to WHO’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health 2016-2030;

-  having regard to global trends of backsliding on fundamental rights, including the rights of women;

-  having regard to the fundamental nature of the transatlantic partnership being rooted in our shared values including the respect for human rights;

-  having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure;

 

1. whereas, on 1 September 2021, the State of Texas enacted Senate Bill 8, prohibiting women from accessing abortion care following the commencement of foetal cardiac impulses, de facto as little as six weeks since the last menstrual cycle, providing for no exceptions in cases of the woman being a victim of sexual violence and necessitating two separate ultrasound scans before the procedure may be performed;
2. Whereas in the Roe v. Wade case, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction;
3. Whereas the bill was opposed by more than 300 Texas lawyers, who said it undermined longstanding rules and tenets of the legal system;
4. Whereas President Biden declared the bill represents an “unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights”, pledging for a “whole-of-government effort” to counter the law and calling for “women in Texas to have access to safe and legal abortions”;
5. Whereas reproductive choice is fundamental to a woman’s autonomy; whereas equal access to abortion care, free from discrimination, coercion and violence, is essential for social and economic equality, reproductive autonomy and the right to determine one’s own life; whereas prohibiting legal access to abortions compels pregnant people to seek unsafe abortions, violating their rights and increasing maternal mortality and morbidity;
6. whereas, in many cases, women, girls and all people who can become pregnant do not realise they are pregnant before this de facto six-week deadline has expired, effectively denying them access to abortion care within Texas, necessitating lengthy, costly and emotionally traumatic journeys to obtain care in other jurisdictions;
7. whereas such travel to other jurisdictions for healthcare is impossible for many women, especially for people from marginalized communities and people on a low income, for reasons of affordability, care duties and absence from work;
8. whereas the categorisation of abortion after the six-week de facto deadline as a civil violation provides for lawsuits to be filed by individuals with no connection to the patient against anyone deemed to have assisted in the provision of abortion care, including family members, abortion funds, rape crisis counsellors and other medical professionals, with those successfully bringing a lawsuit eligible for financial rewards of at least US$10,000[1]; whereas this civilian enforcement measure is a threat to women’s safety and would isolate women from anyone who would help them during their pregnancy, directly affecting their emotional health; whereas opponents have described this unprecedented provision as “placing a bounty on people who provide or aid abortions, inviting random strangers to sue them”, an archaic model of law enforcement with no place in a modern democracy;
9. whereas, later this year, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in response to a Mississippi legal case that threatens to overturn decades-old abortion protections established under Roe v. Wade.
10. Whereas the recent Texas abortion ban and upcoming Mississippi legal case hearing are a sad reminder that the United States is falling behind other nations in its obligation to protect women’s rights, especially sexual and reproductive rights; whereas the protection of women’s rights is imperative to the values both the United States and the European Union seek to protect;
11. Whereas a dozen other states have passed similar bills, although they have all been blocked by courts;
12. Whereas already before the passage of Senate Bill 8 abortions in Texas were prohibited after 20 weeks, with exceptions for a woman with a life-threatening medical condition or in case the foetus has a severe abnormality; whereas pill-induced abortions were barred at 10 weeks;
13. Whereas United Nations treaty body jurisprudence affirms that access to abortion represents a human rights concern and that denying women access to abortion can amount to violations of the rights to health, privacy and, in certain cases, the right to be free from cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment;
14. Whereas, according to state statistics, more than 56.000 abortions were performed in Texas in 2019, most of them in the first trimester;
15. whereas polling carried out by the University of Texas/Texas Tribune found a plurality of Texans, and polling by Monmouth University found that a majority of Americans, oppose this law, with women particularly opposed[2];

 

1. Expresses firm solidarity with and support to the women of Texas and those involved in provision and advocacy of abortion healthcare under such trying circumstances;
2. Expresses full support to those engaged in legal challenges against Senate Bill 8, with the conviction that their work will result in the restoration of Texan women’s right to reproductive healthcare;

Recalls that sexual and reproductive rights are human rights and that a total ban on abortion care or denial of abortion care is a form of gender-based violence;

3. Reminds the authorities of the State of Texas of their constitutional obligations to protect the rights of women, which includes the fundamental right to abortion;
4. Furthermore reminds the authorities of the State of Texas of their obligations under the Universal Declaration on Human Rights to facilitate access of their citizens to healthcare, which compel them to revoke this legislation in light of its obviously violating qualities;
5. Calls on the United States Congress to pass federal legal protection for access to abortion through the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which recently passed the US House of Representatives in an historic vote and which safeguards abortion from state-level bans and restrictions;

 

6. Calls on the United States Government to fully decriminalize abortion, which requires not only stopping punishment of women, girls and all pregnant people, healthcare providers and others for accessing, assisting with or providing abortion services, but also removing abortion from criminal laws and all other punitive laws, policies and practices;

 

7. Calls on the United States Government to regulate abortion as any other healthcare service, integrating safe abortion within the provision of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services, and ensuring services are available, accessible and affordable, and provided without discrimination or coercion, and with respect to pregnant person’s privacy, confidentiality and human rights;

 

8. Calls on the United States Government to eliminate requirements that deny the autonomy and agency of women, girls and pregnant people, such as spousal or parental consent, or authorisation by judges or medical panels;

 

9. Calls on the United States Government to establish federal legal protection for access to abortion and to fulfil its stated human rights commitments, including the right to health and the universality and indivisibility of human rights;
10. Calls on the United States Government to end any bounty system of state or individual enforcement of abortion bans that creates a climate of fear and intimidation;
11. Calls on the United States Government to eliminate all barriers to lawful abortion services including legal, policy, social, cultural and economic barriers;

 

12. Calls on the United States Government to regulate refusals to provide lawful abortion services by healthcare providers (including on grounds of conscience) in a manner that does not deny access to abortion to pregnant people who need or want it;

 

13. Calls on the United States to create an enabling environment for women, girls and all people who can become pregnant to make autonomous and informed decisions about their pregnancies and bodies, including by providing comprehensive sexual education and tackling abortion-related stigma;

 

14. Calls on the United States Government to ensure that women, girls and people who can become pregnant can participate in the formulation of abortion-related laws and policies that affect them and can access justice and remedies when their sexual and reproductive rights are violated.
15. Calls on the EU and its Member States to call for the swift abolition of Texas Senate Bill 8 and to call on the United States Government to establish federal legal protection for access to abortion;
16. Calls on the EU and its Member States to raise access to abortion in their relations with their US counterparts in bilateral meetings and in all relevant international fora;
17. Calls on the EU and the Member States to secure assistance and adequate and targeted funding to support the activities of SRHR civil society organisations;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the authorities of the State of Texas including the Texas Legislature, and the authorities of the United States of America.

 

 

• [1] Around €8,618 at current exchange rates
• [2] See: https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_us_092021/ and https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/sites/texaspolitics.utexas.edu/files/202106_poll_crosstab.pdf