EUROPEAN PRO-LIFE ‘YES’!

Fr. ANTONI TATARA

Over a million of citizens of the European Union gave their signatures under the initiative ‘One of us’. It is the biggest pro-life action on the Old Continent and the common action of organizations defending life from the moments of its conception

An originator of the European Civic Initiative ‘One of us’ is an Italian euro-deputy –Carlo Cassini, who was a judge in the Supreme Court and now is the president of the biggest Italian pro-life organization. The executive committee is composed of the representatives of Spain, Hungary and Poland. They coordinate the biggest pro-life action in history of Europe.

– I would like to emphasize the fact that this million votes does not mean the end of our work. Signatures can be collected till the end of October and many of those which we have, can turn out to be unimportant for various reasons. Therefore, we set a minimum threshold of a million two hundred thousand signatures which should be collected in order to speak about peaceful waiting for verification. Therefore, in Europe on 22 September we are organizing the European Day of Support for this action – says Jakub Bałtroszewicz, a member of the civic and executive committee of the initiative and a coordinator of the Polish National Committee (Polish website: www.jedenznas.pl).

What is the European Civic Initiative? This is a new tool, which tell the European Commission to listen to every legal suggestion, under which at least a million citizens from minimum seven countries of Europe will give their signatures. Whereas, the purpose of the action ‘One of us’ is, among the others, stopping funding projects connected with destroying human embryos and carrying out abortions with the EU money. Collecting signatures will last till the end of October and organizers announce time of special mobilization on 22-29 September. The action is being carried out in all EU countries. The biggest number of votes was collected in Italy and in Poland, and the statutory minimum of validity was exceeded by 11 member countries. Whereas, next spring there will be a public hearing, during which leaders of the initiative will submit a project to the European Commission which should give it to voting in the Euro-parliament in the case of no formal allegations.

The proposition ‘One of us’ refers to the verdict ‘Brustle against Greenpeace’ from 2011, in which the Justice Tribunal stated that protection in regard to ‘dignity and integrity of an individual’, belongs to the human embryo from the moment of conception. Therefore, leaders of the initiative speak not so much about a change but about arranging the EU law, which, despite today’s verdict allows for financing millions of abortions in the countries of the Third World with the EU budget (for example 170 thousand children are killed in the prenatal period in Africa every year and it is funded by the European Union).

On 14 November coordinators will come to Cracow from all countries participating in the action in order to take part in the European Congress of Pro-Life Movements ‘One of us’, held for a few days.

– I hope that in Cracow we will celebrate a success of not a million but maybe two millions of signatures. I believe that till the end of October we will be actively supported by many people and societies – says Michał Baran from a Polish Committee ‘One of us’. – We want the bottom-up vote of European citizens to sound loudly and clearly, because we believe that it is only the beginning of pro-life revolution on the Old Continent – he adds.

Organizers of the congress declare that in November, the first federation of the pro-life organization will be established in Cracow, which will show a direction for the years 2014 – 20.

Among the announced guests there are going to be euro-deputies and also the representatives of the pro-life organization in the USA. Polish activists want to build transatlantic bonds and in this way to broaden the support for the pro-life initiative in Poland. – Today we are encouraging everybody for mobilization in order to join the million Europeans supporting us, in the last week of September and make it possible for other with their actions – concludes Michał Baran.

‘Niedziela’ is the media patron of the initiative ‘One of us’ and the afore-mentioned congress.

(AA)

"Niedziela" 38/2013

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl