PRESS RELEASE
The European Parliament favours eugenics
Brussels, 13th of September 2023
“Does the European Parliament want to promote eugenics?” This is the question that FAFCE’s President, Vincenzo Bassi, asks himself after the approval, this morning in Strasbourg, of the Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on standards of quality and safety for substances of human origin intended for human application. “We hope – Bassi continues – that the EU policymakers will be wise enough to avoid an additional divide in Europe, respecting the inherent value and dignity of human life and human procreation: this is what it at stake and we wonder if many who voted this morning really realised that”.
FAFCE notes that embryos and foetuses constitute human life: including them in the list of substances of human origin (so-called SOHOs) and as “unborn offspring” not only reduces them to common cells, but also opens dangerous doors to their use for research and industrial purposes, which goes against the respect of dignity of human life.
The Secretariat of COMECE, in collaboration with the Katholisches Büro in Berlin, also expressed profound concerns about the potential consequences of the broad definition of ‘human substance’ outlined in the draft, which could include human embryos and foetuses.
This report represents the EP position in the interinstitutional negotiations that will take place in the upcoming months. In cooperation with its Member Organisation and other entities, FAFCE will monitor the progress of this procedure.
