MaterCare International, member of FIAMC, expresses its dissatisfaction and regret over the European Parliament’s adoption of the so-called “Matić Report” in the form of a resolution.(1) We also convey our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to those Members of the European Parliament who opposed the resolution.(2)

The “Matić Report” includes a proposal to recognize abortion as a human right, it supports indoctrinative and vulgar forms of sexual education and, for medical professionals, it restricts the right to practice according to one’s conscience. Its recommendations are clearly contrary to Christian values, natural law, and the principles of ethics and medical deontology dating back to the times of Hippocrates of Kos.

Abortion is prenatal murder, an act of brutal violence against the dignity and sanctity of human life in the earliest stages of its development, and a threat to the physical, psychological and spiritual health of mothers and their family. A doctor’s conscientious objection to refer or participate in abortion will be redefined as a refusal to provide medical care and potentially carry serious professional and legal consequences. Abortion and contraception are to be provided to minors without parental consent.

Attempts to curtail the practice of conscientious medicine are unacceptable. The freedom of conscience of health care practitioners yields the following synergistic benefits: it is the foundation of professional autonomy; it ensures that practitioners act in concert with a patient’s conscience; and, it enables the establishment of mutual trust between practitioners and patients. Collectively, these benefits optimize patient care through effective prevention, diagnosis and therapy of disease.

Instead of attacking human life and the vocation and professional ethics of medicine, action should be taken in the European forum to achieve the following: the protection of human life and health from conception to natural death; a cultural milieu for families to flourish in; and, the harmonious development of societies while respecting the rights and value systems of their constituents.

The issues raised by the Matić report were clearly set out in the founding documents of the European Union as falling within the jurisdiction of Member States. It is difficult not to perceive the EU’s adoption of the report as an attempt to violate the sovereignty of those states.

References:

  1. See Motion for a European Parliament Resolution https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2021-0169_EN.html
  2. See Minority Position https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2021-0169_EN.html