A top European law centre has said that the Lisbon Treaty could have opened the door to legalised abortion in Ireland. The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) stated that the Charter of Rights attached to the treaty “appears to create the potential for new ‘rights’, and could create considerable confusion as to interpretation of human rights in Europe”. They pointed out that both Poland and the United Kingdom had opted out of compliance with the Charter, an option that was not offered to the Irish people in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.

In an analysis very similar to that made by Cóir during the referendum, the ECLJ report states “ If the European Court of Justice were to decide that abortion is a ‘right’ in interpreting the Charter of Fundamental Rights, it appears that this decision would be binding on Ireland, Protocol 35 (the Maastricht protocol) notwithstanding".

The ECLJ says that the most likely scenario would have been a court decision that would declare abortion to be a fundamental human right. “This is not a remote possibility; in fact, given the recent history of the European institutions, this is more probable than not to happen. Witness the fact that in May of 2008, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passed a resolution calling for all 47 member states to decriminalize abortion. Additionally, only 3 of the 27 current EU Member States have laws with significant restrictions on abortion (Ireland, Poland, and Malta),” the report warns.

Source : Irish Family Press

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