Please pray for Christian Legal Centre lawyer Roger Kiska, as he presents oral arguments before the Court of Justice of the European Union in an historic case, on March 14.
Roger will be speaking on behalf of the European Citizen's Initiative, One of Us, and the 1.9 million Europeans who signed the initiative to protect the unborn child. Roger will speak only a day after Diana Johnson's 10 minute ruling on completely decriminalising abortion.
The month of March will see two very different approaches to the question of life in Europe. On March 13, Diana Johnson's Abortion (decriminalisation): Ten Minute Rule Bill will receive its first reading in Parliament. In essence, the bill would remove all legal restrictions allowing for abortion on demand up until the moment of birth, for any reason. The next day, March 14, Roger Kiska, legal counsel for the Christian Legal Centre, will be taking part in oral arguments before the Court of Justice of the European Union on behalf of the European Citizens’ Initiative One of Us and the 1.9 million Europeans who signed the initiative to protect the unborn child.
A European Citizenship’ Initiative is an instrument introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon for the purpose of allowing European Citizens to actively participate in the introduction of legislation at the European level. Its inclusion in the Treaty was the result of the European Union realizing that the average EU citizen was disgruntled with the lack of transparency and suspicious of its activity as evidenced by failed referendums in France and the Netherlands over the proposed EU Constitution.
The One of Us ECI generated nearly 1.9 signatures, more than any other ECI in history, calling on the Commission to introduce legislation which would prevent the EU from using funding for abortion abroad or for funding research which required the destruction of the human embryo. The outgoing Barroso Commission, in one of its last acts, rejected the One of US ECI with impunity and with no real assessment despite the massive participation of European citizens.
The case in historic. On the side of One of Us, the government of Poland has joined as an intervener. The Commission, as respondent, has been joined by the European Parliament and European Council as interveners. The stakes could not be any higher. If One of Us win their claim, two things will happen. First, millions of lives will potentially be saved with the EU’s defunding of such controversial abortion providers like International Planned Parenthood. Second, the Court of Justice will in essence recognize the European Citizens’ Imitative as a new way, it would become only the third way, by which new law could be introduced at the EU level.
If the Court rules against One of Us, it will in essence be making the European Citizens’ Initiative dead letter. It will also be telling 1.9 million Europeans that their views on life do not matter.
March will indeed be a month either for life or for the culture of death. And whatever the outcomes on March 13 and 14, it will be historic.
Related Links:
Abortion up to birth bill to be heard by Parliament