Last updated on July 19th, 2021 at 10:17 am
On 23 June, the European Parliament gave an eloquent signal. By approving the Matić Report, it announced that the much-hyped “values” of the European Union are abortion as a “human right” and gender ideology. Of course, the approval of such a text does not carry legislative weight, since these matters are the responsibility of individual member countries, but it does carry great symbolic weight.
The Slovak resolution
Some EU countries, however, have no intention of being represented by a pro-abortion, pro-gender EU institution. This is the case in Slovakia. On 17 June, a few days before the vote on the Matić Report in Brussels, the Slovak Parliament adopted a resolution distancing itself from the contestable Report and reaffirming that there can be no EU interference in this matter. Before being put up for vote, the Matić Report was approved on 11 May by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. Shortly thereafter, a group of members of the Slovak Parliament proposed this resolution opposing the contents of the Matić Report.
The Polish petition
We cross the northern border of Slovakia and enter Poland, where the campaign against the Matić Report has been launched by Ordo Iuris, an association of jurists also accredited to the European Parliament, which iFamNews has already covered. Polish lawyers have launched a petition in which they call the Matić Report “an attack on fundamental human rights, including the freedom of speech, protection of life and the sovereignty of EU member states”. Ordo Iuris recalls the importance of civic engagement; in 2014 it was possible to reject the Estrela Report (a predecessor to the Matić Report) thanks to the opposition of large parts of society.
Against the impositions of the EU
Ordo Iuris’ petition was presented during a conference of an international coalition entitled Stop Matić Report. “We invite all non-governmental organizations, political leaders, scientists and citizens interested in the protection of fundamental human rights and the future of Europe to join our initiative,” explained Karolina Pawłowska, director of the Ordo Iuris International Law Centre. She added: “We must not allow the EU to illegally extend its competences and use its institutions to impose radical solutions on member countries.”
CitizenGo petition
Another collection of signatures to stop the Matić Report was launched on 4 June by CitizenGo: in less than a month more than 405,000 signatures have already been received. The text of the petition lists the five points that make the Matić Report – it says – “the worst document we have ever dealt with.” Churches are also on the defense. The COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union), in a document dated 17 June, gave a long list of violations of the Matić Report against the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. At the same time, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Romania to the EU stresses that the Report “amplifies the rifts between people, cultures and states in today’s Europe”.