Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-16-Speech-4-012"
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"en.20040916.1.4-012"2
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"This debate may be divided into two parts. Portugal is said to have at least 20 000 illegal abortions per year and to have some of Europe’s highest figures for teenage pregnancies. Midwife Maria do Ceu, who carried out illegal abortions, was sentenced to seven and a half years’ imprisonment. Portuguese women are not alone in being refused the right to free abortion. Irish, Maltese and Polish women are in the same position.
Women have rights over their own bodies, and the right to sexual and reproductive health is part of the Convention on Human Rights, ratified by all the EU countries. States that have ratified international conventions must also respect those conventions.
The second part of the debate is about the measures actually taken in connection with ‘Women on Waves’. When it became a member of the European Union, Portugal promised, as a state, to respect the four freedoms of movement. The exemption invoked is that of national security. In this case, I wish to invoke both Community law and the Convention on the Law of the Sea. I do not believe that Portugal is so unstable a country that six people in a boat can jeopardise national security. Consequently, the proportionality principle may not be invoked in this case.
Finally, Portugal has broken its promise to the EU, other Member States and the European people when it comes to the freedoms of movement. I would ask MEPs to reflect upon how it would look in Europe if other European governments were to ponder which groups of citizens did not share their own views and were then to call out their navies to prevent these groups from entering their ports. Such a situation would clearly be unacceptable.
Through its action, the Portuguese Government has challenged not only women and others throughout Europe who wish to defend human rights and respect for international conventions, but also the whole European idea, together with freedom of movement in Europe. I thus wish to call upon both the Commission and the Council to take clear action on this issue without delay."@en1
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