Platform for Action of Fourth World Conference on Women,
Beijing, 1995

Are you confronting religious fundamentalisms or regressive political-religious movements in your daily life and work?  Are you witnessing important links between different types of fundamentalisms (economic, national, social, cultural and religious) and seeing similarities in how these work across religions and regions? Have you or your organization been involved in actions to resist and challenge religious fundamentalisms that you would like to share more widely with women’s rights advocates from around the world?

To read more go to: Learning from experience

Last week 14 participants from 7 different countries met in Warsaw to work on ASTRA Youth future plans of activities for upcoming year. The meeting was intense but very fruitful. We will develop our strategies via Internet and share with other members our ideas and plans soon.

The Vice President of the European Commission Mrs. Margot Wallstroem met the representatives of the Polish women’s NGOs. The meeting took place in Warsaw in 17 April 2008. The ASTRA representative, Lena Bryzik, took part in the meeting.

During the meeting such issues as access to legal abortion and reproductive health services, as well as violence agains women and employment discrimination, were discussed. Polish women have difficulties with an access to legal abortion. The practice is even more restrictive that the law.

 Mrs. Margot Wallstroem was deeply concerned about situation of the Polish women, who still not have an access to safe and legal abortion. In her opinion, the European Union‘s attitude towards this issue is too cautious.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today called on the organisation’s member states to decriminalise abortion, within reasonable gestational limits, if they have not already done so, and to guarantee womens’ “right to access to a safe and legal abortion”.

The Assembly – which brings together national parliamentarians from 47 European countries, representing 800 million Europeans – adopted the resolution by 102 votes to 69 after a four-hour debate and deciding on 72 amendments.

The parliamentarians said that abortion should be avoided as far as possible and “in no circumstances be regarded as a family planning method” but that a total ban did not result in fewer abortions, leading instead to traumatic clandestine abortions and abortion “tourism”.

The law permits abortion to save the life of the mother in practically all Council of Europe member states, the Assembly pointed out. In the majority of European countries it is also permitted for other reasons or within a certain timeframe, with the exception of Andorra, Ireland, Malta, Monaco and Poland, according to report author Gisela Wurm (Austria, SOC).

In the resolution the parliamentarians said medical and psychological care, as well as suitable financial cover, should be offered to women seeking abortions, and conditions which restricted access to safe abortion should be lifted.

They also called for school pupils to receive “compulsory age-appropriate, gender-sensitive education on sex and relationships” in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and therefore abortions.

Source: PACE

If you want to see: the Analysis of the Results of the Vote on the Resolution and its Annexes

A report and draft resolution was published by the Committee of EO for Women and Men of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recommending decriminalization of abortion. The report will be put to the vote on 16th of April. This initiative, mainly directed to Poland, Malta and Ireland where abortion on demand is still forbidden, recommend also introduction of sexual education and promotion of contraceptives, as a way to limit the number of unwanted pregnancies. ASTRA Network supports this resolution and will try to make sure that it is not watered down. To see the resolution go to: Resolution.

The Public Hearing on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights organized by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament was chaired by conservative MEP from Slovakia Anna Zaborska. The Hearing was proposed by the Polish MEP from Socialist Group of the EP – Lidia Geringer d’Oedenberg. Among five panelists, Wanda Nowicka from ASTRA spoke on Recent Trends regarding Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Central and Eastern Europe with Special Focus on Poland. She identified a number of negative developments which soon might lead to diminishing access to sexual and reproductive rights. Douglas A. Sylva from Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute in his presentation on SRHR presented critical and unsubstantiated view regarding international standards on SRHR. The representative of the European Commission (EC) in his statement from the floor confirmed all the commitments of the EC to internationally accepted SRHR, including the Cairo Programme of Action and its follow-up documents. The discussion following the panel was dominated by the voices of MEPs from new members states, particularly from Poland and Slovakia, many of which presented conservative views and anti-choice position. However, many MEPs that support SRHR were also present and made strong arguments, based on women and adolescent realities, supporting SRHR 
The Hearing gathered a huge audience some of which were sitting on the floor and proved that the issue is very relevant for Europe and its institutions.
The Hearing was followed by the presentation of the documentary produced by ASTRA “Breaking the Silence” on SRHR in CEE.

Slovakia 's Constitutional Court ruled against a request to make abortion illegal, but reduced the limit on the procedure from the 24th week of pregnancy to the 12th week. The request to outlaw abortion was submitted six years ago by the Christian Democratic party.