Editorial: Tangled web

Sydney
14 July 2002

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Editorial: Tangled web

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Editorial: Tangled web

It is not often one has cause for concern when it comes to Vatican social justice initiatives. But the aphorism ‘one man’s freedom is another man’s slavery’ - or, in this case, women’s - comes to mind in respect of the Vatican’s just-declared support for the UN International Criminal Court.

There is nothing wrong with the Vatican’s supporting the court of itself. The problem is that another piece of international legislation, courtesy of the European Union (EU), could, theoretically, see those who oppose abortion hauled before the court for refusing to accept legalised abortion.

This is because the court’s job basically is to prosecute those who offend against human rights, and last week the European Parliament voted by 280 votes to 240 to establish new norms for “reproductive and sexual rights”, which include a recommendation that “abortion should be made legal, safe and accessible to all”.

The recommendation asserts that these “rights” are “fundamental human rights”. And therein lies the potential problem for the International Criminal Court, which is designed to bring to book those who offend against human rights.

O what a tangled web we weave … But the deceit here is not to do with the UN court, but the pro-abortion recommendation from the EU Committee on Rights and Equal Opportunity.

That women should be entitled to full human rights is incontestable, but those rights should not be at the price of another’s rights. And to include as part of women’s ‘human rights’ the ‘right’ to cause the death of unborn children is a perversion of the very idea of human rights.

We all know abortion happens. We all know war happens. But that does not make either right.

The European Union move is extremely worrying, and not just because of the human rights implications. If this recommendation is implemented it could result in the removal of all legal barriers to abortion throughout the EU. Several member nations, including Ireland, Spain and Portugal, as well as some who are seeking entry, such as Poland and Malta, have legal barriers in place restricting abortion.

Interestingly, the EU vote attracted 28 abstentions, so the parliamentary battle is obviously far from over.

But the implications it has for the International Criminal Court and the kind of cases that might be brought before it are not good, despite UN assurances that the Church’s concern regarding abortion has been dealt with. The abortion pressure from Northern Europe is obviously increasing and one would be naïve to think such pressure will not brought to bear on the UN at the same time.