17 Amendments of Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP related to 2017/0360R(NLE)
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the Poland’s Act of 1993 on Family Planning, Protection of Human Fetus and the Conditions of Legal Pregnancy Termination is one of the most restrictive laws on abortion in the European Union; whereas the new proposal known as “Stop Abortion” bill which seeks to amend the criminal code to eliminate legal access to abortion in cases of severe or fatal fetal anomaly would, in effect, result in a near total denial of access to legal abortion in Poland as most legal abortions are performed under this ground;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the “Stop paedophilia” bill would, in effect, prohibit sexuality education, criminalise teachers, health care workers and other educational professionals, and promote stigma, harmful stereotypes and homophobia; whereas the bill would contravene Poland’s international human rights obligations;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Sejm was legally obliged, within six months of taking up its duties, to consider draft laws stemming from citizens’ initiatives; whereas on 16 April 2020 the Polish Parliament voted to refer back to committee the two draft laws stemming from citizens’ initiatives on access to abortion and on the sexual education of minors; whereas the dates on which the parliamentary committees will study the bills have not yet been announced;
Amendment 38 #
Da. whereas in the past the UN Human Rights Committee has called on Poland to refrain from adopting any legislative reform that would amount to a retrogression of already restrictive legislation on women’s access to safe and legal abortion; whereas the ECtHR has ruled against Poland in several cases owing to Poland’s restrictive interpretation of this right;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that on 16 April 2020 the Polish Parliament voted to refer back to committeeRegrets that Parliament did not flatly reject these two draft laws stemming from citizens’ initiative; and rejects any attempts to backtrack on SRHR and LGBTI rights, and in this con access to abortion and on thetext condemn[ed] the attempts to further criminalise abortion care, stigmatise HIV-positive people, and undermine young people’s access to sexuality education of minorsin Poland;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Polish Government and Members of the Polish Parliament to halt consideration of these two draft laws, given that a vigorous, necessary and legitimate debate is under way in the country and throughout Europe in response to the moral issues and grievances they raise, and that the lives and fundamental rights of thousands of women, couples and families, many of them among the youngest and most vulnerable in society, would be irreparably damaged; Urges Members of the Polish Parliament to refrain from any further attempts to restrict women’s and adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)
(1) Regrets recent legal changes by the Sejm, under which medical facilities would no longer be legally obliged to indicate another facility in case of denial of abortion services due to personal beliefs; Calls on the Polish government to revert these changes and to adopt measures to compensate for deficiencies in service provision caused by doctors who decide to invoke conscientious objection to refuse healthcare services, and to include in the law a rule that in the event of refusal to perform a medical procedure, the medical facility must indicate another specialist or facility which will perform the procedure;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Reiterates its concerns about already ongoing, extensive, and inappropriate use of the conscience clause including the absence of reliable referral mechanism for access to abortion in practice, and lack of timely appeals processes for women who are denied abortions; Notes that under human rights law, the right of conscientious objection is subject to limitations to protect the rights of others and that concerning healthcare, conscientious objection is also constricted by articles protecting the right to life, health and privacy;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasizes that universal access to healthcare, including sexual and reproductive healthcare and related rights, is a fundamental human right; Is concerned at the loss of women’s rights and at the level of protection in Poland of the right of women and adolescent girls to health, of which sexual and reproductive health is an essential component, and of the rights of young LGBTI people, whose health and physical safety are particularly at risk; reminds that the measures that roll back protections for women’s rights and self-determination violate Poland’s international human rights obligations to protect women’s rights to privacy, health, and freedom from inhuman treatment;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stress that unhindered and timely access to reproductive health services and respect for women’s reproductive autonomy and decision-making is critical to protecting women’s human rights and gender equality; reminds that International human rights bodies have repeatedly affirmed that highly restrictive abortion laws contravene human rights standards and must be reformed; recalls that Parliament has strongly criticised, already in its resolutions of 14 September2016 and 15 November 2017, any legislative proposal that would prohibit abortion in cases of severe or fatal foetal impairment, thereby virtually banning access to abortion care in Poland as most legal abortions are performed under this ground;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses that women who decide to end a pregnancy either travel to another country to obtain safe and legal abortion services or undergo potentially unsafe procedures at home and might risk their lives during these procedures, particularly poor women; reaffirms that the denial of sexual and reproductive health and rights services, including safe and legal abortion, is a form of violence against women and girls;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Urges the Polish authorities to respect the right of women to make autonomous decisions about their own bodies and reproductive functions, which are at the very core of their fundamental right to equality and privacy concerning intimate matters of physical and psychological integrity; calls for the law limiting women’s and girls’ access to the emergency contraceptive pill to be repealed;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Strongly reiterates that access to comprehensive, age-appropriate information about sex and sexuality and access to sexual and reproductive health care, including sexual education, family planning, contraceptive methods and safe and legal abortion, is essential to create a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Reiterates that young people must be empowered and protected through age- appropriate information about sex and sexuality and access to sexual and reproductive healthcare; Stresses that rather than protecting young people, lack of information and education about sex and sexuality risks the safety and well- being of young people by leaving them vulnerable to sexual exploitation, abuse and violence, including girls and young LGBTI people who are particularly impacted by inequitable gender and social norms; demands that educators, doctors and carers been supported, protected and encouraged to be able to provide these informations;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3f. Recalls that education, in addition to being a stand-alone human right, is a precondition for the enjoyment of other fundamental rights and freedoms; recalls that Poland has a duty under international human rights law to provide mandatory, age-appropriate, standardised, evidence-based and scientifically accurate comprehensive sexuality education; recalls that such education is a necessary part of the school curriculum to meet the World Health Organization standards for Europe to educate and protect young people; affirms that such education should encompass sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual expression, relationships and consent as well as information about negative outcomes or conditions such as STIs and HIV, unintended pregnancy, sexual violence and harmful practices such as grooming and FGM;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Polish Government to condemn and take appropriate legal measures against the resolutions adopted by regional and local authorities concerning the establishment of ‘LGBTI- free areas’ in Poland, which violate fundamental rights and fuel more hatred, fear and threats against LGBTI + people in Poland; urges the Polish Government to take steps to protect LGBTI + people and to combat all human rights violations faced by them in Poland; ; Recalls its position outlined in its resolution of 18 December 2019 on public discrimination and hate speech against LGBTI people, and condemns the law suits against the civil society activists who published the so called ”Atlas of Hate” that documents the spread of homophobia in Poland, and rejects the way the current legal framework and courts and these lawsuits are being used to silence LGBTI activists and prevent them from exercising their right to free speech;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)