The pro-choice movement for safe and accessible abortion in the EU reached about 1.2 million verified signatures last week surpassing the threshold required for European Citizens’ Initiatives to induce the European Commission to consider new legislative proposals.
To be successful, a European citizens' initiative (ECI), EU’s main instrument for participative democracy, has to reach one million statements of support as well as minimum thresholds in at least seven countries. The initiative My Voice My Choice exceeded the threshold less than a year after the collection of signatures started. The collection period ends on 24 April.
“This is what happens when people across Europe unite for justice,” commented Nika Kovač, campaign coordinator. We turned pain into action, fear into courage, and silence into 1.2 million voices demanding reproductive rights.”
“In Poland, women have died in hospitals because doctors refused to provide abortion care under restrictive laws. In Malta, women face prison sentences for having an abortion. The right to choose is not a fringe issue — it is a widely supported and deeply rooted European value. This initiative is a declaration that enough is enough, that the EU must act,” she added.
When the campaign for affordable abortion was launched in April 2024, almost half a million Europeans had already signed the initiative. The lack of access to abortion in some parts of Europe not only puts women at risk of physical harm but also puts undue economic and mental stress on women and families, often on the margins of society that can afford it the least.
To change this, the ECI is asking the European Commission - in the spirit of solidarity – to submit a proposal for financial support to Member States that would be able to perform safe termination of pregnancies for anyone in Europe who still lacks access to safe and legal abortion in their home country.
As abortion falls under the competency of the Member States, the NGOs behind the campaign realized that it would not be possible to harmonize EU legislation and focused instead on the creation of a dedicated EU fund for reproductive care.
According to the Initiative, twenty million women in Europe do not have access to safe and accessible abortion. The fund would help cover medical expenses, enabling women to receive care in EU countries where abortion is still restricted or even criminalised (Poland and Malta), where it is not free (Austria and Germany) or where it is functionally inaccessible (Croatia, Italy, Romania and Hungary).
In for example Romania, decades of underfunding and stigma have made abortion providers virtually disappear. Abortion care in Czechia is not accessible and can cost up to 30% of the minimum wage. While some countries have taken steps to protect access to abortion, such as France which has enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, far-right parties in other countries continue to rally against reproductive rights.
“The campaign was long and exhausting, but incredibly inspiring,” said Lana Bobić, from Croatia, one of the initiators. “It showed how people—from students to retirees— self-organised, mobilised, and proved that a true, engaged community is ready to fight back against the growing forces of darkness.”
The My Voice, My Choice campaign brought together over 300 NGOs and more than 2,000 volunteers, who collected signatures everywhere across all EU member states. Alongside its grassroots organising, the campaign reached over 65 million people online, using platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Bluesky.
The campaign collected signatures in all 27 EU Member States, with most signatures coming from France (200,000), Germany (186,000) and Italy (160,000). The threshold has not been reached yet in seven countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovakia) but it will not affect the positive outcome as the two conditions for success were met.
“No woman in Europe should fear death in a hospital bed or prosecution for making decisions about her own body,” Nika Kovač, the campaign coordinator, concluded. “We are here to say: reproductive rights are human rights.”
The campaign now enters its next phase, where national signature verification will occur, followed by an official submission for legislative action to the European Commission and a hearing in the European Parliament. A positive reply should result in legislation putting reproductive healthcare back on the EU agenda.
Besides My Voice My Choice, there are 10 other on-going ECIs which can be supported by European citizens but hardly any one of them is likely to make it to the finishing line.
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
