One million Europeans demand Brussels fund safe abortions

Mirella from Croatia, Isabella from Poland and Andrea, visiting Malta from the United States, all needed urgent abortions. All three women sought medical care for serious health reasons, but instead of help, they encountered obstacles.

For one of the women, that proved fatal, as she died from an infection because the doctors didn't want to perform an abortion.

The pan-European platform My Voice, My Choice argues that, under current restrictions, many doctors prioritise avoiding legal repercussions over safeguarding women’s fundamental human rights. But they decided to challenge the status quo.

On Wednesday (1 October), activists brought their demands directly to EU equality commissioner Hadja Lahbib, calling on the European Union to set up a fund to guarantee safe and legal access to abortion, after collecting more than one million signatures for their European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI).

An ECI is the most bottom-up form of policymaking in the EU, as it gives all EU citizens the opportunity to bring their demands directly to the European Commission. Once an initiative gathers one million signatures, a meeting with the commission is arranged.

According to the activists from My Voice, My Choice, more than 20 million women in the EU don’t have access to safe abortions, which puts them at risk of physical harm or economic as well as mental stress.

“We know that people resort to unsafe abortions if they can’t get an official one. They come with tragic risks for patients, sometimes even death”, explained Alicia Baier, a gynaecologist and founder of the Berlin-based NGO Doctors for Choice Germany.

The idea is for the EU to establish a specific fund to support women who are in need of abortions by paying for the procedure.

“It will be an opt-in mechanism for the member states so that it is not mandatory for every country”, explained Nika Kovač, leader of My Voice, My Choice.

Kovač explained that, under such a mechanism, people who needed an abortion but couldn’t get one in their country would be supported by this fund in undergoing the procedure elsewhere.

While the activists were campaigning for signatures in many of the member states, they also approached the political groups in the European Parliament.

“The support was much bigger than we expected”, said Kovač, stating My Voice, My Choice is backed by the Left, the Greens, S&D, Renew and many MEPs from the EPP.

Malta represents one of the most notorious cases within the EU.

Aside from a few exceptions, abortion is prohibited. Women who have an abortion face a prison sentence. In July, a 28-year-old woman was sentenced to 22 months in prison after buying abortion pills online.

“Being able to have an abortion should not be a matter of luck and where in Europe you have been born”, said Belle de Jong, a Maltese activist.

Activists from My Voice, My Choice will present their initiative at a public hearing in the European Parliament on 2 March 2026.

Ultimately, it is up to the EU Commission to decide if and what actions will be taken in response to the initiative.

In 2024, the European Parliament adopted a resolution stating that the right to abortion should be included in the EU charter of fundamental rights.

But this would need treaty change, which requires unanimity among EU member states, making it highly unlikely.

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