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European Union Debates Initiative on Embryo Protection European Union Debates Initiative on Embryo Protection
(about 4 hours later)
BRUSSELS — A battle over abortion and stem-cell research that divides nations like Spain and the United States made an incursion into European Union affairs Thursday morning when a hearing on a petition calling for the protection of embryos began at the European Parliament. BRUSSELS — A packed hearing on a petition calling for the protection of human embryos led to a rare outbreak of raucous exchanges in the European Parliament on Thursday — a sign that the battles over abortion and stem cell research that divide nations like Spain and the United States are making a serious incursion into European Union affairs.
The petition, which has garnered 1.8 million signatures, is a sign that so-called culture wars that have long colored national politics in some countries may be becoming increasingly salient across Europe. It also comes after recent demonstrations in France against same-sex marriage and in Spain against abortion that signal support for socially conservative causes. The petition, which has garnered 1.8 million signatures, is a sign that the so-called culture wars that have long colored national politics in some countries may be becoming increasingly salient across Europe. It also comes after recent demonstrations in France against same-sex marriage and government efforts in Spain to restrict abortion that signal support for socially conservative causes.
One of Us, the group that brought the petition, has sought to prohibit the use of European Union funds for research, foreign aid programs and public health activities that are linked to the destruction of human embryos. Leaders of One of Us, the group that brought the petition, told lawmakers that they were seeking to prohibit the use of European Union funds for research, foreign aid programs and public health activities that are linked to the destruction of human embryos.
The first person to testify on Thursday morning was Patrick Gregor Puppinck, the president of the committee backing the initiative. Mr. Puppinck told the hearing that nearly 2 million European citizens had come together to support the view that, “human dignity and the life of all human beings is important from conception.” Mr. Puppinck also called for a ban on “the financing of abortion in development aid.” “The problem here is with those who claim that an embryo, a fetus, is nothing,” said Grégor Puppinck, president of the One of Us committee backing the initiative. “It is understood that life begins at the point of conception and must be respected,” said Mr. Puppinck, who also called for a ban on “the financing of abortion in development aid.”
The petition is the second so-called European Citizens’ Initiative to have won a hearing since the system was introduced two years ago. To qualify, petitioners must receive at least 1 million signatures from a quarter of European Union member states and then apply to the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, for formal recognition. Mr. Puppinck was supported by numerous lawmakers affiliated with the center-right European People’s Party, many from Italy and Poland. But Mr. Puppinck and his supporters received sharp criticism from other lawmakers, like Sophie in ‘t Veld, a lawmaker from the Netherlands.
Once accepted, petitioners are entitled to a joint hearing at the European Parliament with the European Commission. “I would like to remind you that there are more than 500 million European citizens who have not signed your petition, and I will personally oppose your request until the bitter end,” Ms. in ‘t Veld told Mr. Puppinck.
The commission is not obliged to take any action by accepting such initiatives. But it must reach a formal decision within three months and justify that decision in writing. In the case involving One of Us, the commission must reach its decision by May 28. The petition was heard under a system introduced two years ago called the European Citizens’ Initiative. It is part of a renewed effort to bring citizens closer to the union, increasingly seen as an elite project led by faceless officials out of sync with the everyday concerns of Europeans.
“The commission is very much in listening mode, and that will continue” on Thursday, the European commissioner for research, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, and Andris Piebalgs, the commissioner for development, said in a joint statement on Wednesday. To qualify, petitioners must receive at least one million signatures from a quarter of European Union member states and then apply to the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, for formal recognition. Once accepted, petitioners are entitled to a hearing before the European Parliament.
The hearing has generated so much interest among supporters and opponents of the initiative that a number of people seeking to attend the hearing had to be turned away on Thursday morning. The commission is not obliged to take any action by accepting such initiatives. But it must reach a formal decision within three months and justify that decision in writing. In the case involving One of Us, the commission must decide by May 28.
Civil society groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung, or the German Global Population Foundation, have sounded an the alarm, warning that funding for family planning and “abortion-related services” in low- and middle-income countries could meet stronger headwinds in coming years if the petition gains traction. The hearing held on Thursday generated so much interest that some people were turned away. Those who made it inside the hearing room gave standing ovations to their advocates and loudly booed their adversaries, in one of the most raucous hearings some lawmakers had ever experienced.
The initiative would “limit the E.U.'s ability to engage in international commitments” by jeopardizing aid totaling about $120 million spent each year on maternal and reproductive health, said Michael Cashman, a British member of the European Parliament. In an interview, Mr. Puppinck attributed some of his support to the long financial crisis in Europe, which has eroded confidence in existing institutions and in future prosperity. Young people especially are seeking a society that is less governed by “selfishness and egoism” and want to lead “a more authentic life,” he said.
Other groups like the Wellcome Trust, a global health foundation based in London, have expressed concern about prospects for research in areas like regenerative medicine and genetic disease. Some of the loudest outbursts during the hearing came when Ana Gomes, a lawmaker from Spain, repeatedly asked whether the European Center for Law and Justice, an organization based in Strasbourg, France, of which Mr. Puppinck is director general, had any links with Pat Robertson, the American Christian evangelist.
That concern was echoed on Thursday by Teresa Riera Madurell, a Spanish member of the Parliament, who told leaders of One of Us that adequate checks were in place to ensure ethical standards were respected in stem-cell research. “The only thing your ban would achieve would be to slow down research at the European level, and that would have important implications for our competitiveness,” she told the group. Mr. Puppinck said in an interview that the European Center and the American Center for Law and Justice, a law firm and educational organization that Mr. Robertson had helped to establish, shared the same chief counsel. But Mr. Puppinck said he had never met Mr. Robertson and he criticized Ms. Gomes for raising issues that were “not the point of the debate.”
The petition has led civil society groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights and the German Global Population Foundation to ring the alarm, warning that funding for family planning and abortion-related services in low and middle-income countries could meet stronger headwinds in coming years if the effort gains traction.
The initiative would “limit the E.U.'s ability to engage in international commitments” by jeopardizing aid totaling about $120 million spent each year on maternal and reproductive health, said Michael Cashman, a British lawmaker.
Other groups like the Wellcome Trust, a global health foundation based in London, have expressed concern about the prospects for research in areas like regenerative medicine and genetic disease.
That concern was echoed by Teresa Riera Madurell, a Spanish member of the European Parliament, who told the leaders of One of Us that adequate checks were in place to ensure that ethical standards are respected in stem cell research. “The only thing your ban would achieve would be to slow down research at the European level, and that would have important implications for our competitiveness,” she told the group.
The first petition to qualify as a European Citizens’ Initiative was brought by a group called Right2Water that collected 1.9 million signatures.The first petition to qualify as a European Citizens’ Initiative was brought by a group called Right2Water that collected 1.9 million signatures.
Last month, in response to that initiative, the commission pledged to improve access to clean water across the region. But Right2Water immediately complained that the commission’s response lacked “any real ambition” and failed to offer a legal commitment to curb European Union initiatives liberalizing water and sanitation services. Last month, in response to that initiative, the commission pledged to improve access to clean water across Europe. But Right2Water immediately complained that the commission’s response lacked “any real ambition” and failed to offer a legal commitment ensuring that public, not private, companies provide water services.
Mr. Puppinck said he was prepared for a similar rebuff.
“My fear is that they say, ‘We have been listening to you very nicely, thank you for collecting two million signatures, goodbye,' ” he said.