The European Parliament approved in the first instance a proposal for a regulation that equates human embryos with cells and tissues, calling them 'substances of human origin', and opens the door to eugenics and industrial uses.
The proposal for a regulation on quality and safety standards for substances of human origin intended for human application (or SoHO regulation) was approved on 12 September by a large majority of socialists, greens and liberals, despite the alarm raised by various expert organisations.
Officially, the aim of the new measures would be to 'better protect citizens who donate or are treated with blood, tissues or cells'. In reality The regulation authorises the free market of human embryos, foetuses and gametes, which are included in the categories of tissues and cells.
Many MEPs have tried to give the illusion that the proposal is ethical by insisting that the donations must always be 'voluntary and unpaid', with only reimbursement of expenses for donors or - more often - donors. But you can easily disguising a fee by calling it 'reimbursement'.authorising this opens the door to the commodification of human life.
Indeed, to ensure that the European Union has its own independent supply of these 'substances', as stated in the approved measure, "MEPs call for a European strategy coordinated by the Commission to ensure availability, a European list of substances for human use or of human origin (SoHO) that are in short supplyand the establishment of national emergency and continuity of supply plans'.
Under the pretext of creating 'an efficient and safe environment for blood transfusions and organ transplants throughout the Union', the EPP (European People's Party) rapporteur, Nathalie Colin-Oesterlé, stressed that his party "recognises and supports the existence of a European fertility market to justify cross-border trade in gametes, embryos and foetuses in the event of a shortage in a Member State'.
The approved text is therefore an important step towards the recognition of a fertility market, as long advocated by numerous lobbies.
The Regulation It also opens up the market in which embryos and foetuses travel across the European Union to be 'donated with compensation', i.e. sold to the highest bidder. Of course, the Member States remain responsible for decisions on ethical issues such as in vitro fertilisation, but at the same time, by making the Commission responsible for implementing the regulation, there is the There is a real risk that Brussels will circumvent the prohibitions in the laws of individual countries.
The final text of this draft has yet to be finalised. In order to enter into force, it will have to be re-approved by Parliament without any changes. Several countries are expected to reject this text which creates a Dangerous precedent for buying and selling human body parts and lifeAmong them are Italy, Hungary and Poland, which will hold the presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025.
Article heretranslation by Maria Celeste
