A European-wide petition calling for the protection of life from conception has reached one million signatures and aims to collect another 500,000 by November.
One of Us is one of the first projects to utilise the facility of the European Citizens’ Initiative established by the Lisbon Treaty and it is the asking the EU to establish a ban and end the financing of activities which involve the destruction of human embryos, in particular in the areas of research, development aid and public health. This will be done through a change of the financial regulation of the EU that determines the spending of the EU budget.
Signatures
Currently Ireland has collected 4,402 signatures and the UK has reached 12,767 signatures. Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life in Belfast said an “all-out push to promote the One of Us campaign is urgently needed over these coming weeks” and the group has contacted the Irish bishops asking them to promote it in the run up to October 6, the annual ‘Day for Life’ in Ireland.