Last year, the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity launched a personhood petition in the European Union to ensure “protection of the dignity, the right to life and of the integrity of every human being from conception.” The signature campaign, called “One of Us,” is tasked with collecting one million signatures from citizens of European Union nations in 2013.
The campaign is one of the first European Citizen’s Initiatives ever registered. Supporters are optimistic that the initiative can “advance the protection of human life from conception in Europe – within the possibilities of the competency of the EU” and send a clear pro-life message to Brussels. The initiative would force the EU to act upon protections of the human embryo previously acknowledged by the European Court of Justice (Brüstle vs. Greenpeace, 2011).
At the 2012 Global Pro-Life Unity Summit, pro-life organizations from Romania, Portugal, Poland, Ireland, and Hungary shared their desire to pursue a European personhood initiative and to apply the petition process utilized in many American states. The “One of Us” campaign shares the spirit of the Lisbon Declaration released by participants of the summit. Personhood USA, a co-sponsor of the summit, has joined in solidarity with its pro-personhood European allies and endorsed the new Vatican-backed pro-life initiative.
Campaign organizers say, “The Europe of tomorrow is in your hands. Be worthy of this task.” If you live in the European Union or know someone who does, the “One of Us” campaign needs your help. Please sign the petition and share it with friends so that they can sign it, too. To find out how you can get involved, please contact your local pro-life representative promoting the initiative.
