Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-16-Speech-4-010"
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"en.20040916.1.4-010"2
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"Mr President, there is no reason to hold this debate. In the case in question, a Portuguese court ruled that the Portuguese Government had acted within the law. Under due process of law, the judiciary is independent of the other authorities. The Portuguese Government does not give orders to the judiciary.
Parliament cannot give a ruling on voluntary termination of pregnancy, nor, indeed, on the legality of a judgment. Voluntary termination of pregnancy is a matter of exclusive competence for each individual Member State. Portuguese law is not substantially different from that of most Member States and was approved by a democratic parliament. In a recent referendum, it was decided that it should not be changed. I understand that pregnant women must be able to make their own decisions in this delicate matter, but we must also respect the fact that a majority of citizens expressed a different view. This is a majority and we operate under due process of law.
I should like to inform you, Commissioner, that no member of ‘Women on Waves’ was refused entry. They had previously enjoyed complete freedom of movement and expression in Portugal. They had no restrictions – they spoke where they wanted to, with whom they wanted and gave the interviews they wanted to give. That was until they helped people to obtain and take medicines that are prescription-only because of their potentially harmful side effects. One woman, whom I understand to be a doctor, confirms that she obtained this drug over the counter in a Portuguese pharmacy, in violation of basic public health rules. Given that these allegations have come from a doctor, this is very serious. Long-standing members of the Portuguese Medical Association and of the Portuguese Pharmacists’ Association have protested.
Limiting freedom of movement in the European area is intrinsically linked to protecting public health and to preventing the practice of illicit acts. What actually happened was an incitement to clinically unassisted – I repeat, unassisted – abortion, with the aim of exploiting the fact that many pregnant women are needy and ill-informed, encouraging them to break the law purely for propaganda purposes. This really is an appalling violation of human rights, which Parliament should condemn outright. Mr President, you would have been better off, and the Conference of Presidents would have been better off, having this debate aborted."@en1
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