“Introducing freedom of abortion into the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union would not bring more than a symbolic step forward” | EUROtoday

HAS On a number of events, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron has expressed the want to revise the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to incorporate the liberty to resort to voluntary termination of being pregnant (abortion).

This proposal, already formulated in January 2022 within the context of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union, then reiterated on the event of the ceremony of the sealing of the Constitution on March 8, 2024 for the official integration of the liberty of resorting to abortion as a constitutional legislation, was as soon as once more expressed throughout the speech on Europe on April 25, 2024 on the Sorbonne.

This growth defended by the Head of State concretizes his want to go even additional in guaranteeing this freedom: after constitutionalization, may we witness a Europeanization of the liberty to resort to abortion, by a revision of the Charter of Fundamental Rights?

Binding authorized worth

This textual content, which is the primary supply of safety of rights and freedoms by the European Union and which has the identical authorized worth because the treaties on the Union, has had a turbulent historical past. Proclaimed on the time of the adoption of the Treaty of Nice within the 12 months 2000, the Charter of Fundamental Rights was not built-in into the Treaty on the European Union, for basically political causes.

The Charter subsequently appeared within the draft treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, however the lack of ratification of the venture by the member states – notably France following the adverse referendum of 2005 – prevented its entry into drive. drive.

It was solely with the revision carried out by the Treaty of Lisbon signed in 2007 and which entered into drive in 2009 that the Charter acquired a binding authorized worth equal to that of the treaties, however with all the identical a sure hostility displayed, for various causes, by sure Member States (particularly, the United Kingdom, Poland and the Czech Republic). The textual content thus establishes a listing of rights and freedoms that the establishments of the Union and the Member States undertake to respect.

This record can’t be exhaustive and the constitutional revision of March 2024 confirmed – if essential – that the legislation can all the time evolve, within the path of the extension of rights in addition to a regression elsewhere. The identical is true of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which might be augmented by new provisions, and why not of a lady's freedom to have an abortion. However, such an enterprise will not be straightforward.

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