Pro-life campaigners have forced the European Union to reconsider its position on embryo research after collecting more than 1.5 million signatures across the continent for a church-backed petition.
"This is a great and remarkable milestone," the One Of Us Initiative said in a statement on 2 November. "European citizens have expressed society's concern about the need for greater protection of the human embryo. We are closer to our objective of altering the future of the embryonic stem cell research industry in Europe and defending the life of the weakest."
Organisers said signatures had been collected from 17 countries by the 1 November deadline for the petition, which urges the EU to stop funding research, aid and public health activities involving embryo destruction. It said supporters hoped the action would send a "strong message to the European Commission" about protecting human life "as the first and fundamental right in society".
The campaign, backed by the Pope and bishops' conferences in Germany and Austria, was the first "European citizens' initiative" launched after the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon, which allows a million petition signatories from at least a quarter of EU member states to propose legislation directly to Brussels as a way of increasing direct democracy.
The EU Commission said it would decide on further action within three months, after verifying the One Of Us petition signatures.
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