In October 2025, advocates behind the European citizens' initiative 'My Voice, My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion' met with the European Commission to discuss a proposal for a voluntary EU financial support mechanism. The initiative, launched in April 2024, has gathered over 1.12 million signatures from 19 EU member states, exceeding the one million required to trigger a formal response from the Commission. This mechanism aims to provide financial assistance for safe and legal abortion services, particularly for individuals needing to travel due to restrictive national laws or conscientious objection policies.
The campaign highlights concerns over the erosion of reproductive rights in several EU countries, citing Poland and Malta as examples of severely limited access. Poland's current laws permit abortion only in specific circumstances, such as risks to the pregnant woman's life or health, or in cases of rape. Abortion remains illegal in Malta, with limited exceptions only if the pregnant woman's life is at risk, a situation that has been described as among the most restrictive in Europe. However, in 2023, amendments were introduced allowing medical interventions to save the life and protect the health of a pregnant woman, even if it may lead to termination of pregnancy. Globally, an estimated 20 million women lack access to safe abortion services, leading to significant health, economic, and mental stress, particularly for marginalized communities.
The European Commission is currently reviewing the 'My Voice, My Choice' proposal, with an official response expected by March 2, 2026. This review process may include a public hearing at the European Parliament. The initiative's success in gathering a significant number of signatures from multiple member states demonstrates the EU's participatory democracy framework. The Commission is expected to provide a detailed response outlining any proposed actions and their reasoning within six months of the initiative's submission. The outcome of this review is anticipated to have substantial implications for reproductive rights and abortion access across the European Union. Meanwhile, France constitutionally enshrined the right to abortion in March 2024, becoming the first country in the world to do so.
The situation in countries like Poland, where a 2020 ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal further restricted abortion access, underscores the need for such initiatives. UN experts have identified these restrictive laws as violations of women's human rights, causing significant suffering. Similarly, Malta's strict prohibition of abortion contributes to disparities in reproductive healthcare access. The 'My Voice, My Choice' initiative proposes a voluntary financial mechanism as a pathway to mitigate these disparities and promote more equitable access to reproductive healthcare throughout the Union.