22 Amendments of Karen MELCHIOR related to 2017/0360R(NLE)
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
- having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 13 February 2019 on Experiencing backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU (2018/2684(RSP)),
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Citation 4
Citation 4
- having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Articles 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 21 and 35 thereof,
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Citation 4
Citation 4
- having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Articles 1, 2, 3, 10, 21, 35 and 345 thereof,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Citation 5
Citation 5
- having regard to Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), on equality between women and men, and Article 9 TFEU, on combating social exclusion and a high level of education, training and protection of human health, Title IV TFEU on free movement of persons, services and capitals and Title V TFEU on area of freedom, security and justice,
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as set out in Article 2 TEU and embedded in international human rights treaties; whereas those values, which are common to the Member States and to which all Member States have freely subscribed, constitute the foundation of the rights enjoyed by those living in the Union; whereas Article 7 TEU foresees the possibility to suspend certain rights deriving from the application of the Treaties to a Member State, including voting rights in the Council, where there has been a determination of the existence of a serious and persistent breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas provision of accessible and affordable sexual and reproductive health and rights, including contraception and safe and legal abortion, is related to multiple human rights, including the right to life and dignity, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, the right to access healthcare, the right to privacy, the right to education and the prohibition of discrimination; whereas the denial of sexual and reproductive health and rights services is a form of violence against women and girls; whereas the European Court of Human Rights has ruled on several occasions that restrictive abortion laws and lack of implementation violates the human rights of women;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas age-appropriate and evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education is key to building children’s and young peoples’ skills to form healthy, equal, nurturing and safe relationships, free from discrimination, coercion and violence as well as having a positive impact on gender equality outcomes, including transforming harmful gender norms and attitudes towards gender-based violence, homophobia and transphobia and contributes to decreased adolescent pregnancy, reduced risk-taking, and increased use of condoms and other forms of contraception;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas two draft laws stemming from citizens’ initiatives are before the Polish Parliament, one of which seeks to tighten up even further a law on abortion which is already one of the most restrictive in the EU, and the other to make providing comprehensive sexuality education to minors a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas in 2016 an attempt to introduce a total ban on the right to abortion sparked a mass mobilisation of women and civil society organisations and the ‘Black Monday’ women’s strike; whereas in 2018 the draft law imposing restrictions on abortion triggered massive protests throughout Poland and beyond;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas since the beginning of 2019 in Poland, there were over 80 instances, where regions, counties or municipalities have passed resolutions declaring themselves free from so-called “LGBT ideology”, or have adopted "Regional Charters of Family Rights” or key provisions coming from them, discriminating in particular single-parent and LGBTI families; whereas the creation of LGBTI free zones, even if it does not consist in the introduction of a physical border, represents an extremely discriminatory measure limiting the freedom of movement of the EU citizens;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that 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 thcomprehensive sexuality education ofor minors;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. 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 their sexual and reproductive health and rights is an essential component, and of the rights of young LGBTI people, whose healthmental and physical health and safety are particularly at risk; deplores the government’s continuing attacks on women’s rights activists and organisations through raids, defunding and intimidation, heavily impacting their work and creating an environment of fear;
Amendment 77 #
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; calls on the Commission to assess whether the creation of LGBTI free zones consists in a violation of the freedom of movement and residence in the EU, infringing Article3 (2) TEU, Article 21 TFEU, Title IV and V TFEU and Article 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; calls on the Commission to assess whether Poland has failed to fulfil an obligation under the Treaties and it shall deliver a reasoned opinion on the matter, in accordance with Article258 TFEU; urges the Polish Government to take steps to protect LGBTI + people and to combat all human rights violations faced by them in Poland;
Amendment 79 #
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 combataddress all human rights violations faced by them in Poland;LGBTI+ people and organisations in Poland; call on the Polish Government to ensure the rights and freedoms of the civil society organisations working to ensure representation of women’s and LGBTI+ peoples interests in public policy and society at large.
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Polish Government to urgently 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;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Polish Government to include sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics as a protected personal characteristics in the Criminal Code to ensure the rights of all LGBTI+ people in Poland;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Polish Government to comply with the recommendations made by the European Parliament in its resolution of 14 November 2019 on the criminalisation of comprehensive sexuality education in Poland, as well as with those of the Council of Europe and the WHO.
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Believes that safeguarding democracy and guaranteeing respect of the rule of law and fundamental rights are essential values of the European Union; believes that EU funding under the next MFF should be conditional on adherence to these principles;
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Recalls that Article 7 TEU can be triggered where there is determination that there is a clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2; strongly believes that contraventions of women’s, LGBTI+ people’s and other minorities’ rights seriously breach the values of equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities enshrined in Article 2 TEU and that such contraventions should trigger the Article 7 procedure; urges the Commission to monitor the situation of these values in the Union closely and launch proceedings under Article 7(1) where there is evidence of a clear risk of a serious breach of these values by a Member State;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Strongly 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 urgently reverse these changes, to address gaps in service provision resulting from doctors who refuse healthcare services on conscientious objection grounds, and to legislate to ensure 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 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Reiterates its concerns about already ongoing, extensive, and inappropriate use of conscientious objection including the absence of a 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 not absolute and 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;