STRASBOURG, France (ChurchMilitant.com) – Nicaraga’s Bp. Rolando Álvarez and Planned Parenthood’s Colleen McNicholas are among the finalists for the European Union’s top human rights award.
The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be awarded Thursday to one of three finalists from around the world.
The three finalists for the 2023 award are:
Jina Mahsa Amini and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran
Vilma Núñez de Escorcia and Bp. Rolando José Álvarez Lagos from Nicaragua
Women fighting for a free, safe and legal abortion in Poland (Justyna Wydrzyńska), El Salvador (Morena Herrera) and the United States (Colleen McNicholas)
Bishop Álvarez was sentenced to over 26 years in prison and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship in February for standing up to the country’s Marxist Ortega regime.
Describing the three women advocates of abortion, EU Reporter wrote:
Justyna Wydrzyńska is a Polish women’s rights defender and member of the Abortion Dream Team, who was sentenced to eight months’ community service for helping a woman obtain an abortion in Poland. Morena Herrera is a feminist and social activist, advocating for safe and legal abortion access in El Salvador. Colleen McNicholas is an American obstetrician-gynaecologist with a strong track record of high-quality patient care and impactful reproductive health advocacy.
Concerning an account of McNicholas in an issue of Marie Claire magazine, LifeNews reported, “Writer Kayla Webley portrays McNicholas as a heroine ‘on the front lines of the abortion wars.’ … The author applauds the fact that McNicholas is so proficient at her trade that she is able to ‘terminate 31 pregnancies a day,’ and quotes her as being ‘passionate and committed’ to her work.”
Colleen McNicholas
After her nomination, McNicholas proclaimed, “As far-right politicians try to ban abortion across swaths of the U.S. and internationally, I’m thankful for the European Parliament’s nomination and spotlight on this critical issue of human rights.” She added, “Let this be a sign to those trying to roll back access to abortion: the world is watching,” the abortionist declared.
The other finalist, 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, was reportedly beaten in September 2022 and arrested in Tehran for wearing a hijab “the wrong way,” EU Reporter documented. “Her death a few days later sparked massive protests in Iran, with women at the forefront. Under the slogan ‘Woman, Life, Freedom,’ they have been protesting against the hijab law and other discriminatory laws,” the outlet added.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought — named after Soviet physicist Andreĭ Sakharov — has been awarded annually since 1988 to those “defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.” The winner, who will also receive a prize of 50,000 euros, will be decided on Thursday by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and others, with a presentation ceremony held on Dec. 13.
