Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-12-Speech-3-267"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030212.9.3-267"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I, too, would like to start by sincerely thanking Mrs Sandbæk for her splendid effort, defending an important issue, that is women’s freedom over their own bodies, being boss of your own belly as we say in the Netherlands and for emphasising the importance of prevention and education. I would like to raise two points.
My first point is of a financial nature. The main problem is that the financing is lagging behind the ICPD objectives, with, in addition to President Bush’s decrease, the fact that 0.7% ODA has not been reached. Taking all those things together, this means that many programmes cannot be implemented. That is why, Commissioner, the financial section in this proposal is immensely important. Now I would like to hear from you whether the Commissioner supports Amendment No 46, which deals with the level of the amount, but also the promise that the budgetary authority will consent. Even more important: does the Council agree with this proposal? We consider it very important that agreement is reached at first reading, and this amendment may put that in jeopardy.
A second point concerns the anti-abortion actions being conducted in relation to this issue. There is a lobby group in America screaming blue murder because they say this European regulation promotes abortion. They say it supports the Chinese policy of forced abortion as a means of stemming population growth. It is all nonsense. I want to publicly reject this. Of course we are against the Chinese practice, just as we were against the forced sterilisation of men in India in the time of Mrs Gandhi. The decision to have an abortion must be taken freely by women but not seen as an alternative to proper methods of contraception. Once a woman has taken the difficult decision – and take it from me, it is a very difficult decision – the opportunity has to exist for her to do this in a responsible way, so that she does not have to resort to clandestine abortion, often with dire consequences. The proposal as it now lies before us is also entirely in keeping with the principles adopted in 1994 in Cairo. I eagerly await your response."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples