News & Updates
Victory on conscientious objection at Council of Europe
An attack against the right of conscientious
objection
was defeated today in the Council of Europe:
"The
Assembly today emphasized the need to affirm the right of
conscientious objection in lawful medical care. At the end of a
debate on the subject during which the text presented by the
Committee on Social Affairs was substantially amended, the
adopted resolution states that "no person and no hospital or
institution shall be coerced, held liable or discriminated
against in any manner because of a refusal to perform,
accommodate, assist or submit to an abortion [...]"."
Pro-life Members of the Council of Europe led by Luca Volonte of
Italy and Ronan Mullen of Ireland secured passage of 29
amendments which significantly altered the report to support the
right of conscience. The report was rejected in the final vote
as it failed to secure a two-thirds majority. McCafferty and
other pro-abortion Members were forced to vote against their own
report. Vote tallies can be accessed on the
PACE website.
The McCafferty report,
Women's access to lawful medical care: the problem of
unregulated use of conscientious objection, was an attempt
to pressure and penalize medical personnel who refused to
participate in procedures or actions they considered to be
unethical.
According to PNCI Director Marie Smith: "Leading pro-abortion MP
Christine McCafferty had contrived a report, with input from the
Center for Reproductive Rights, that was designed to deny
medical personnel their right not to participate in unethical
procedures, especially abortion."
"McCafferty and her cohort know that doctors and nurses are
committed to saving lives and most are repelled by the act of
abortion, refusing to participate in any way. The report sought
to deny them the right to say 'No!' and refuse to participate in
the ultimate act of child abuse-death."
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch lobbied in support
of the report stating in a letter to the Council:
"Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch share the
deep concern expressed by the Committee
about the increasing
and largely unregulated occurrence of conscientious objection,
especially in the field of reproductive health care, in many
Council of Europe member states."
Leading pro-abortion organization 'Catholics for Choice' (CFC)
also lobbied for the report attacking authentic Catholic
teaching on conscience while fraudulently presenting itself as
the determiner of Catholic beliefs on conscience claiming among
other things that Catholic teaching "recognizes that
institutions have no right to a claim of conscience".
The pro-abortion lobby was undone by a united and strong
pro-life network from throughout Europe which was moved to
action by the extreme measures of the McCafferty report and
statements by CFC and other NGOs.
Smith states: "The pro-life network in Europe is growing in
strength daily, in part motivated to action by radical groups
which advance the violence of abortion. Pro-life groups in
particular recognize the deception spouted by CFC and feel that
in the name of transparency and honesty the group should rename
itself 'Anti-Catholics for Abortion'.
"Today's debate on conscience has shown that pro-abortion lobby
groups in Europe can no longer use false arguments and outrights
lies to win the vote. The pro-life movement is alive, well and
growing--dedicated to truth and committed to advancing the
dignity of life."