The pro-abortion contingent in the European Parliament is seeking to silence citizen pro-life groups.
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s letter from June 28th, seen by The European Conservative, reveals that eight MEPs from the centre-left RENEW Europe group, requested “the immediate withdrawal of accreditation of lobbyists linked to radical-conservative, anti-abortion NGO’s on European Parliament premises.”
The MEPs explained they were requesting the move against pro-life lobbyists, “in light of unprecedented backsliding against the fundamental human rights of bodily integrity, self- determination, and access to health care in the United States.”
It is yet another reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, a ruling that ended the federal protection of legal abortion and ratified the right of lawmakers to protect pre-natal life.
The letter accuses pro-life lobbyists of “the spreading of propaganda and false, toxic narratives.” It argues that their accreditation should be withdrawn because they are damaging the reputation of the EU by being allowed to advocate for “a gross violation of our citizens’ rights,” contrary to the parliament’s rules.
The conservative Right reacted quickly.
In a second letter, dated June 30th (and shared with this publication), MEPs from the EU Parliament delegation of the Spanish party VOX sent their own request to Metsola: that those determined to undermine freedom of thought and citizen initiatives be reprimanded. The letter, signed by Jorge Buxade and Margarita de la Pisa Carrión, along with two others, states:
It is an unusual and unprecedented fact that a group of MEPs are trying to violate freedom of thought, ideology, conscience, and expression in Europe, but it shows once again that a significant part of this Parliament has embarked on a mad rush towards the imposition, indoctrination, and censorship of ideas.
They ask Metsola to “to reject this request out of hand, warning of the consequences of such actions.”
They trust, they sign off to Metsola, “in your common sense.”
“We see the censorship that is happening,” de la Pisa Carrión said in an interview with The European Conservative. “They must think they have a lot of support for their cancel culture to write such a letter.” She hopes to receive a strong response from Metsola within a week.
“We hope for a swift response and that they have to retract the letter,” she said. “If it takes longer than a week, it might be a sign of silent assent,” she estimated.
The VOX MEP also pointed out that ousting pro-life lobbyists is an affront to EU citizens.
“Lobbies demonstrate a position that is shared by many citizens, that’s why they exist,” she explained.
This is particularly true of pro-life groups, which are grassroots initiatives and not linked to the medical industry or any other for-profit enterprise.
De la Pisa Carrión also noted that the request to strip pro-lifers of the opportunity to advocate their positions at the EU Parliament was based on the assumption that abortion is a fundamental human right, though it has never been enshrined as such in international or European law. The U.S. Supreme Court decision also further weakens such a position.
The moment is both a challenge and an opportunity for pro-life politicians and advocates.
“We’re seeing the challenge we’re facing from the U.S. Supreme Court decision very nervously,” she said. “Let’s see if we’re able to take advantage of it and open a debate.”
The European Conservatives and Reformists group, of which the VOX contingent is part, hosted its own colloquium at the EU Parliament on July 5th to analyse the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
