Várhelyi vows to champion girls’s rights as he pursues EU well being chief job

He got here beneath hearth after the listening to particularly for his feedback about girls, together with his suggestion that he was “an ally of girls” as a result of he lives along with his spouse and has three daughters.

Renew MEP Stine Bosse mentioned she was “wholly unconvinced” that Várhelyi is the “proper guardian of girls’s rights,” whereas some MEPs recommended privately after the listening to that his portfolio may very well be trimmed to take away sexual and reproductive well being care.

In follow-up questions despatched by lawmakers Thursday, Várhelyi was requested what “concrete steps” he would take as EU well being commissioner to advertise entry to and the availability of sexual and reproductive well being care.

In his solutions, which had been revealed Friday, he mentioned: “Sexual and reproductive well being performs a key position in gender equality and ladies’s rights. If confirmed, I’ll due to this fact work along with the Commissioner for Equality on the post-2025 Gender Equality Strategy on points associated to well being, together with sexual and reproductive well being.”

He didn’t say whether or not he would come with abortion inside the cross-border well being directive, one thing that MEPs had pushed for, though he did make reference to the Commission’s help for the U.N.’s sustainable growth targets, which embody a reference to household planning. 

MEPs will resolve on Monday whether or not or not he will get the job.