There is no right to abortion and any attempt to insert one into the EU’s fundamental charter of human rights would be an ‘ideological imposition’, according to the Bishops of the European Union.

Ahead of a vote by the European Parliament on the Resolution for the ‘Inclusion of the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights’, the Presidency of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) said the promotion of women and their rights is not related to the promotion of abortion.

On the contrary, they say the right to life is the fundamental pillar of all other human rights, “especially the right to life of the most vulnerable, fragile and defenceless, like the unborn child in the womb”.

They add that the European Union must respect the different cultures and traditions in the Member States and their national competences and “cannot impose on others, inside and outside its borders, ideological positions on the human person, sexuality and gender, marriage and family.