Following 1.4 million European personhood signatures, European Union votes down abortion as a “human right”

BRUSSELS—The European Parliament voted down a report defining abortion as a “human right” today, in accordance with the popular groundswell of pro-life sentiment in Europe. The vote comes after the “One of Us” campaign, endorsed by Personhood Education and the Vatican, announced it has collected more than 1,400,000 signatures within the European Union to recognize the personhood of unborn children.

The draft report considered by the European Parliament would have elevated the right to abortion above the right to life, restricted the conscience rights and religious freedom of health care workers, and demanded public funding for abortion and other forms of embryonic destruction. The assembly defeated the report in a 351 to 319 vote, sending it back to committee.

Currently, international law recognizes no “right to abortion.” Even if adopted, legal scholars question whether the report could have held any binding legal effect over member states, since the European Union only possesses the authority conferred to it by member states.

“Representatives at the European Parliament wisely listened to the pro-life will of the people,” said Josh Craddock, Personhood Education’s United Nations liaison. “More than one million voices have called for the EU to recognize personhood for unborn children. It’s time for the radical ‘experts’ in Brussels who drafted this report to abandon their delusional social agenda.”

The “One of Us” initiative is only the second European Citizens’ Initiative in history to reach the petition requirements established by the Commission. If passed, it will ban EU financing of abortion and other embryonic destruction.

Craddock continued: “Killing an innocent human being can never be considered a fundamental ‘human right.’ Life is the ultimate human right, without which no other rights can exist.”

New poll shows Uruguay abortion decision unsupported by majority of citizens; will lead to increase in maternal mortality warns Personhood USA

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In the middle of the night, tacked onto another bill, the lower house of Uruguay’s congress passed a bill to legalize abortion 50-49 – yet the most recent polls show that Uruguay citizens oppose this decision.

As a part of it’s global outreach, Personhood USA sponsored the largest poll ever conducted on the issue of abortion in Uruguay, contacting 118,264 households from Oct. 12-14. 51,922 households responded in favor of abortion, while a majority of 66,342 households identified themselves as prolife and in favor of protecting life before birth.

The numbers, translated to 56.1% prolife and 43.9% pro-abortion, are a clear indicator that the majority of Uruguay citizens are not in favor of abortion.

This 118,264 household poll directly challenges a much smaller survey of only 800 people, which appeared to inaccurately claim that the majority of Uruguay citizens were in favor of abortion. This survey was referenced by the Huffington Post.

As the bill awaits final approval, Uruguay could be the second country in Latin America, only behind Communist Cuba, to legalize abortion. The new law allows even late-term abortions in certain medical cases, despite the findings of a recent medical symposium in Ireland which determined that abortion is never medically necessary.

“It is a tragedy that the government in Uruguay is attempting to impose this death sentence to its smallest citizens,” commented Gualberto GarciaJones, J.D., legal analyst for Personhood USA. “Worse, we have seen major physical and emotional risks to women who suffer abortions. We know that abortion is dangerous for women, and lethal for innocent babies. Uruguay must put a stop to the legalization of killing in their country, or the consequences will be dire.”

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0036613

Recent studies have determined that countries where abortion is illegal or severely restricted enjoy among the lowest maternal mortality rates, such as Ireland and Chile.

“Uruguay need only look at the United States to see the damage legalized abortion can cause,” continued GarciaJones. “Our families are broken, multitudes of women suffer permanent injuries, and one third of our children have been brutally killed by abortion. Uruguay’s citizens do not want abortion, and it should not be forced upon them. The women of Uruguay deserve better.”

PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1q8Mz)