Activities of Chrysoula ZACHAROPOULOU related to 2020/2215(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health
Amendments (40)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 a (new)
Recital 1 a (new)
1a. whereas the pandemic and lockdown measures are disrupting access to education and healthcare; whereas they have therefore made access to contraception and sexuality education even more difficult, leaving women and girls more exposed to the risk of unwanted and early pregnancies, as well as female genital mutilation and domestic violence;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 b (new)
Recital 1 b (new)
1b. whereas the Spotlight Initiative was launched by the EU and the UN to combat violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls, and whereas one of its aims is to improve access to sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 c (new)
Recital 1 c (new)
1c. whereas early pregnancies can give rise to serious complications and are one of the main causes of death among girls;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 d (new)
Recital 1 d (new)
1d. whereas WASH services are essential to sexual and reproductive health, but are still too often inaccessible, particularly in remote areas;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
- having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention),
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Reaffirms that sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are grounded in human rights, are fundamental elements of human dignity, are essential if women are to retain control over their own bodies and remain crucial to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Condemns any violations of SRHR, including failures to provide access to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), family planning services and maternal healthcare; calls on the EU to support health and family planning centres in partner countries with a view to exchanging information and doing away with taboos surrounding menstruation, sexuality and procreation and also fully involving young men in the fight against stereotypes and taboos;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Insists that CSE programmes are important as they provide age-appropriate information about puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and childbirth; recalls the role of non-governmental organisations as service providers and advocates for SRHR; underlines that CSE programmes help prevent early pregnancy and marriage, which lead to girls dropping out of school, and urges that these programmes be made as inclusive as possible;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 26 November 2020 on the de facto ban on the right to abortion in Poland,
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 a (new)
Citation 27 a (new)
- having regard to the Joint Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on a EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III: an ambitious agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment in EU external action JOIN(2020) 17,
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 b (new)
Citation 27 b (new)
- having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a Programme for the Union's action in the field of health –for the period 2021-2027 and repealing Regulation (EU)No 282/2014 (“EU4Health Programme”) COM/2020/405,
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls for increased efforts to enable girls who become mothers to return to school and complete their education; stresses the need to combat the stigmatisation of these girls;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Points out that there is a taboo surrounding periods and that this has consequences for girls’ education, as schools do not have the right facilities and services; calls for efforts to reduce absenteeism among girls during their periods, by improving menstrual hygiene facilities in schools, in particular WASH services, and by combating stigmatisation;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls for the potential of communication tools such as radio, television and the telephone, and also digital tools, including social networks and messaging services, to be exploited to improve young people’s access to sexuality education, and in particular their awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and the risks associated with early pregnancies; considers that this will entail addressing gender inequalities in access to digital services, as well as cyber- bullying and violence against women and girls on the internet;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the EU and the Member States to secure adequate and well-targeted funding for SRHR in itstheir development cooperation policy;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises that SRHR services should be gender-responsive, rights-based, youth-friendly and available to all, regardless of age or marital status, including during conflicts and disasters, and to persons with disabilities;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Points out that in sub-Saharan Africa women are more likely to be infected with HIV, making them even more vulnerable to cervical cancer; stresses the need to include a gender dimension in public health policies and awareness-raising campaigns, in order to take proper account of diseases that particularly affect women and girls;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Points out that women and girls are particularly exposed to rape and sexual violence in crisis-affected areas, including in the context of conflicts, natural disasters and the consequences of climate change; calls on the EU to step up the fight against the use of rape as a weapon of war and to guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health services for rape victims;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) constitute an essential element of comprehensive healthcare provision;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas SRHR is a primary condition for gender equality; whereas it is their body, their choice, and full autonomy should be guaranteed;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
D c. whereas sexual and reproductive health and rights are targets for UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, and whereas gender-based violence and harmful practices are targets for SDG 5;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the essential package of SRH measures includes: comprehensive and evidence-based sexuality education; information and counselling on modern contraceptiveson; antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care; midwifery; obstetric and new-born care; safe and legal abortion services; the prevention, detection and treatment of HIV and other STIs; services aimed at detecting, preventing and treating sexual and gender-based violence; prevention, detection and treatment for reproductive cancers; and fertility services;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas comprehensive sexuality education facilitates informed reproductive choices, evidence- based, non-discriminatory and age- appropriate sexuality education based on international standards facilitates informed reproductive choices and contributes to achieving gender equality;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas several Member States are attempting to limit access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) through highly-restrictive laws which lead to gender discrimination and negative consequences for women’s health;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
L a. whereas the most vulnerable and marginalised people face additional barriers, discrimination and violence in accessing healthcare, including people belonging to ethnic or religious minorities, Roma people, people coming from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, people without health insurance, people living in rural areas, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ people, victims of violence, etc.;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
N a. whereas the COVID-19 crisis has had a disproportionate impact on timely access to essential healthcare services including those related to sexual reproductive health and rights; whereas the unavailability of doctors and the subsequent possible discontinuation of pregnancy termination services and of contraceptive prescriptions due to containment measures has had severe implications for women’s fundamental right to bodily autonomy;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N b (new)
Recital N b (new)
N b. whereas the European Parliament has addressed sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in its newly adopted position at first reading on the Programme for the Union's action in the field of health for the period 2021-2027 (“EU4Health Programme”) to ensure timely access to goods that are needed for the safe provision of SRHR (e.g medicines, contraceptives and medical equipment);
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls upon the EU, its bodies and agencies to support and promote universal access to SRHR services and calls upon the Member States to ensure access to a full range of high-quality, comprehensive and affordable SRHR, and to remove all barriers impeding full access to SRHR;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and in line with national competences, calls upon the Member States to safeguard the right of all persons to make their own informed choices with regard to SRHR, regardless of age, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender, class and/or migration status, to make their own informed choices with regard to SRHR and to ensure the right of bodily integrity and personal autonomy, equality and non- discrimination;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recalls that stereotypes and taboo surrounding menstruation remain widespread in our societies, and that these can delay diagnosis of diseases such as the endometriosis disease, which despite affecting 1 women on 10 of reproductive age, being the first cause of women's infertility, causing chronic pelvic pain, has a median delay of 8 years for its diagnosis and for which there is no cure ; Calls on Member states to ensure comprehensive and scientifically accurate education about menstruation, to raise awareness and to launch major information campaigns on endometriosis targeting the public, healthcare professionals and legislators, and to invest on research about the causes and treatments of this disease;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reminds that sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) constitute an essential element of comprehensive healthcare provision and a universal, legal, safe and barrier-free access to high-quality and affordable healthcare services has to be provided to all persons, with special consideration to the most vulnerable and marginalised people, including people belonging to ethnic or religious minorities, Roma people, people coming from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, people without health insurance, people living in rural areas, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ people, victims of violence, etc.;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Urges the Commission to make full use of its competence in Health policy and to support Member States in guaranteeing universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights SRHR in the framework of the Programme for the Union's action in the field of health for the period 2021-2027 (“EU4Health Programme”);
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Recalls that the provision of comprehensive sexuality education is one of the main instruments for achieving the commitments on the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25), namely zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths, zero gender-based violence and harmful practices against women, girls and youth;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Condemns any backlash against sexuality education and any attempt to misinform, stigmatise or ban sexuality education;
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls upon the Member States to establish awareness-raising programmes and campaigns, including comprehensive targeted information on modern contraceptive choice and the full range of contraceptives, and to provide high- quality modern contraceptive service delivery and counselling by healthcare professionals, including emergency contraception without prescription, which is often denied by doctors on the grounds of personal beliefs;
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on Members States to tackle infertility and subfertility as public health issues affecting both women and men, by ensuring responsiveness of reproductive healthcare services to the shifting needs of women, couples and families, taking a rights-based, inclusive and non- discriminatory approach, in particular by making medically assisted procreation, in accordance with appropriate ethical guidelines and medical standards, widely available, affordable and accessible in Europe;
Amendment 460 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls upon the Member States to regularly exchange best practices and commit to an upward convergence and harmonisation of women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); calls on the Council to establish a configuration on Gender Equality gathering Ministers and Secretaries of State in charge of Gender Equality in one dedicated forum in order to deliver common and concrete measures to address the challenges in the field of women’s rights and gender equality, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and ensure that gender equality issues are discussed at the highest political level;
Amendment 485 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls upon the Commissioner for Equality to promote and protect SRHR and to includethrough them in the nextmplementation of the EU gender equality strategy;
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls upon the Commissioner for International Partnerships to uphold the European Consensus on Development and the SDGs, in particular targets 3.7 and 5.6, to ensure that SRHR remain a development priority in all EU external activities; welcomes the commitment in promoting SRHR in the new Gender Action Plan III and calls upon the Commissioner for International Partnerships to propose concrete measures to fulfil this objective;
Amendment 498 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls upon the Commission to streongthen its actions to counterly condemn the backlash against women’s rights, make full use of its competence and strengthen its actions to counter it;