Abortion: a Legal Privilege or a Criminal Offense

Abstract

The Commission's ruling represents a beginning in the delicate area of abortion. Since a binding Directive could not be issued to all Member States if they were strongly opposed for religious reasons, the existence of some states in the EU that have incriminated abortion meant that this area was circumvented long after the EU's legislative consolidation. The European Parliament's April 11 directive, which covers fundamental human rights (2024/2655(RSP), marked the beginning of the examination of the ability of executing abortions as a right under the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights. Recommendations and approaches: As a clear violation of a basic right, abortion was denounced by European nations when they ratified the ECHR. The fetus therefore has the same rights as an adult, it can be stated. Later, the right to dispose of one's own body was compared to that of an adult, and the European Convention on Human Rights placed more emphasis on a more lenient stance toward fetal protection. Results and consequences: Acknowledgment of the significance of people's capacity to exercise this right, to manage their health from this perspective, and to establish the circumstances in which women can exercise this right to a healthy life. The full liberty and choice granted to women and those with reproductive capability is in line with the 2011 Istanbul European Convention on Combating Violence Against Women, which the European Union adopted in the middle of 2023.